REPORT 


Of  thp: 


loint  Special  Cominiltte  of  t|e  -Cib  Comiril 


ON  THH 


INTRODUCTION  OF  WATER 


FOR  THE  CITY  OF  LYNN, 


WITH 


Reports  of  the  Engineer  and  Chemist. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


Class 


Book 


Volume 


REPORT 


/  OF  THE 

/  |oint  Spenal  Committee  of  %  Citg  Cooneil 

ON  THE 

I  INTEODUCTION  OF  WATER 

FOR  THE  CITY  OF  LYNN, 

WITH 

Keports  of  the  Engineer  and  Chemist. 

SEPTEMBER,  1870. 


LYNN  : 

THOS.  P.  NICHOLS,  PRINTER, 

No.  179  MARKET  STREET. 

1870. 


CITY  OF  LYNN. 


In  Common  Council,  Sejpt.  9,  1870. 

Ordered^  That  the  Committee  on  the  Introduction  of  Water  be, 
and  hereby  are,  instructed  to  have  printed  three  thousand  copies  of 
their  Report,  for  general  distribution,  together  with  the  Report  of  W. 
J.  McAlpine,  Esq.,  to  said  Committee,  with  his  estimates  of  the  cost 
of  the  same. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence. 

RUFUS  KIMBALL,  Clerk. 


In  Board  of  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  ) 
September  14,  1870.  1 

Adopted  in  concurrence. 

BENJ.  II.  JONES,  City  Clerk. 


EEPOET  OF  THE  JOINT  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE 

ON  THE 

INTRODUCTION  OF  WATER. 


To  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Lynn  : 

The  Joint  Special  Committee,  to  whom  was  assigned 
the  duty  of  reporting  upon  the  sources  for  a  water  sup- 
^  ply  for  the  city,  and  estimates  of  the  cost  of  introducing 
^  it,  present  the  following 

EEPORT. 

A  water  supply  for  our  city  from  some  adequate 
source,  to  meet,  by  a  system  of  general  distribution, 
the  various  uses  for  which  it  is  constantly  demanded, 
has,  until  last  year,  received  but  little  consideration. 
The  first  attempt  in  this  direction  was  from  parties 
claiming  the  ownership  of  Sluice  Pond.  Having  in 
view  an  early  demand  for  a  larger  supply,  and  of  better 
quality  than  can  be  afforded  by  the  ordinary  method  of 
sinking  wells,  authority  was  obtained  from  the  Legisla¬ 
ture  in  1865  to  convey  to  the  city  proper  the  water  of 
that  pond  for  distribution  and  sale.  Application  was 
then  made  to  the  City  Council  for  permission  to  lay 


IV 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 


through  the  streets  of  the  city  the  necessary  pipes  to 
provide  such  service.  There  appearing  among  our 
citizens  an  opposition  to  granting  to  a  private  corpora¬ 
tion  the  privileges  asked  for,  the  prayer  of  the  petition 
has  thus  far  been  refused. 

The  disastrous  fires  'which  occurred  in  the  winter  of 
1868-9,  by  which  a  large  amount  of  property  was  de¬ 
stroyed,  the  great  danger  to  which  the  business  interests 
of  the  city  seemed  exposed,  and  the  high  rates  of  in¬ 
surance  demanded  upon  all  kinds  of  insurable  property, 
drew  public  attention  at  once  to  the  insufficiency  of  the 
water  supply  for  the  extinguishinent  of  fires.  The  ap¬ 
prehensions  of  property  owners,  and  the  fears  of  our 
citizens  generally,  found  expression  in  the  following 
extract  from  the  Inaugural  Address  of  the  Mayor  of 
last  year: 

“  The  great  calamity  which  has  befallen  our  city,  by  which  several 
of  our  largest  and  most  beautiful  buildings  have  been  swept  off  by 
the  devouring  flames,  casting  a  deep  gloom  over  the  community, 
depriving  several  of  our  most  enterprising  and  worthy  citizens  of  a 
large  amount  of  property,  and  throwing  nearly  a  thousand  workmen 
out  of  employment,  calls  upon  us  most  imperatively  to  see  to  it 
that  all  needed  facilities  be  provided  for  preventing  a  like  disaster 
hereafter.  I  think  there  is  now  but  one  opinion  among  our  people, 
and  that  is  in  favor  of  the  early  introduction  of  an  abundant  supply 
of  water  into  the  city.  No  one  who  witnessed  the  recent  fire  could 
have  failed  to  see  how  entirely  we  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  devouring 
element,  and  must  continue  to  be,  until  we  remedy  this  deficiency. 
We  cannot  neglect  this  duty  without  incurring  the  heaviest  censure 
of  the  community.  I  do  most  earnestly  beseech  you  to  give  your 
immediate  attention  to  this  important  matter.  Let  a  committee  be  at 


ON  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  WATER. 


V 


once  appointed  to  investigate  the  subject,  and  report  how  and  in  what 
way  this  can  be  brought  about.” 

In  pursuance  of  these  suggestions,  a  Committee  of 
the  City  Council  was  appointed  to  consider  the  necessi¬ 
ties  of  the  city  in  this  regard.  The  Legislature  was 
petitioned  for  authority  to  provide  the  city  with  a  sup¬ 
ply  of  water  from  one  of  the  ponds  in  this  vicinity.  An 
Act  was  granted  conferring  the  necessary  powers,  but 
requiring  the  assent  thereto  of  the  voters  when  submit¬ 
ted  to  them  for  approval.  The  acceptance  of  the  Act 
was  refused.  So  imperative,  however,  was  the  demand 
for  a  more  abundant  supply  of  water  for  use  at  fires, 
that  the  City  Council  authorized  the  expenditure  of 
$32,000  for  the  laying  of  pipes  from  Flax  Pond  to  the 
centre  of  the  city  for  this  purpose.  This  work  was 
accomplished  before  the  close  of  the  year. 

The  official  communication  to  the  City  Council  of  the 
Mayor,  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  year,  in¬ 
vited  the  attention  of  the  members  to  this  subject  in  the 
following  paragraph : 

“  The  iutroduction  of  water  into  the  city,  from  some  one  of  the 
sources  of  supply  near  at  hand,  occupied  the  attention  of  the  last  City 
Council,  invited  thereto  by  the  recommendation  of  my  predecessor  in 
office,  in  his  Inaugural  Address. 

“  Authorized  by  the  City  Council,  a  committee  charged  with  the 
consideration  of  this  important  matter  petitioned  the  Legislature  for 
an  Act  conferring  upon  our  city  the  usual  powers  granted  for  such 
purposes.  ‘An  Act  for  supplying  Lynn  with  pure  water’  was  ob¬ 
tained,  and  received  the  approval  of  the  Governor  on  the  23d  of  June. 
The  sources  of  supply  named  in  the  act  were  Flax  Pond,  within  our 


VI 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 


own  limits  ;  Humphrey’s  Pond,  situated  upon  the  borders  of  the  towns 
of  Lynnfield  and  Peabody,  and  Wenham  Pond,  by  connection  with 
the  water-works  of  the  city  of  Salem.  The  City  Council  was  re¬ 
quired  to  determine  the  source  from  which,  in  the  event  of  the  accep¬ 
tance  of  the  act,  the  city  should  take  water,  and  met  for  this  purpose 
on  the  19th  day  of  July.  It  being  understood  that  no  satisfactory 
arrangement  could  be  made  with  the  city  of  Salem,  and  consent  to 
take  the  waters  of  Humphrey’s  Pond  having  been  refused  by  the 
towns  in  which  they  are  located,  no  option  was  left  the  City  Council 
but  to  name  the  Flax  Pond  as  the  source  of  supply.  On  the  second 
day  of  August  following,  the  act  was  submitted  to  the  people  for 
approval,  and  failed  by  a  vote  of  326  in  favor  to  1,396  against.  So 
decisive  a  vote,  in  the  absence  of  any  information  explaining  it,  might 
be  regarded  as  settling  the  question  for  some  years  to  come.  Yet  I 
am  satisfied  that  the  people  desire  to  have  this  subject  further  con¬ 
sidered.  The  opinion  prevails  that  many  who  voted  'against  the 
acceptance  of  the  Water  Act  did  so  for  prudential  reasons,  —  the 
want  of  full  and  satisfactory  information  regarding  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  water,  the  uncertainty  attending  the  cost  of  introducing 
it,  and,  on  the  part  of  some,  the  fear  that  the  City  Council  would 
regard  the  acceptance  of  the  Act  as  instructions  to  proceed  at  once  to 
carry  out  the  project.  I  therefore  recommend  that  the  question  of 
introducing  water  for  general  purposes  be  again  considered,  and  that 
a  sufficient  appropriation  be  made  to  employ  a  competent  engineer 
to  make  such  surveys  and  estimates  as  will  furnish  full  and  reliable 
data,  and  that  the  committee  having  charge  of  the  investigation  be 
authorized  to  report  in  print,  at  the  close  of  the  year.  If  this  plan 
be  pursued,  and  either  the  Flax  Pond  or  Humphrey’s  Pond  be 
selected  as  the  one  best  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  city,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  Legislature  will  readily  grant  all  necessary  j)owers.” 

So  much  of  the  address  as  relates  to  the  introduction 
of  water  was  referred  to  a  Joint  Sj^ecial  Committee,  who 
subsequently  reported  as  follows  : 


ON  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  WATER. 


Vll 


In  Board  of  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  ) 
April  12,  1870.  ( 

The  Joint  Special  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  so  much  of 
the  Mayor’s  Address  as  relates  to  the  introduction  of  water,  submit 
the  following 

EEPORT. 

The  particular  matter  to  which  the  attention  of  your  Committee 
has  been  directed  is  the  expediency  of  authorizing,  the  present  year, 
an  examination  of  the  ponds  and  water  courses  in  this  vicinity  which 
can  be  made  available  for  furnishing  our  city  with  an  abundant 
supply  of  pure  water.  Sufficient  consideration  has  been  given  the 
subject  to  induce  the  belief  that  an  investigation  which  shall  deter¬ 
mine,  with  scientific  accuracy,  the  sources  from  which  an  adequate 
supply  can  be  obtained,  for  the  present  and  future  wants  of  the  city, 
and  provide  estimates  of  the  cost  of  introducing  and  distributing  it, 
cannot  too  soon  be  undertaken.  The  concentration  upon  a  compara¬ 
tively  small  portion  of  our  territory  of  the  main  business  of  the  city, 
where  are  centered  nearly  all  of  our  large  manufacturing  establish¬ 
ments,  peopled  daily  by  hundreds  whose  occupations  call  them  thither, 
and  the  increase  of  our  manufacturing  industry,  which,  year  by  year, 
adds  to  the  numbers  employed,  furnish,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  an 
important  sanitary  reason  why  the  introduction  of  water  ought  not  to 
be  longer  deferred.  The  rapid  growth  of  our  city  in  population,  the 
occupation  for  residences  of  substantially  the  same  area  by  constantly 
increasing  numbers,  the  superiority  of  soft,  pure  water  for  mechani¬ 
cal  and  manufacturing  purposes,  the  necessity  for  cleansing  the 
sewers,  that  no  accumulation  of  filth  shall  remain,  and  the  conveni¬ 
ence  and  facility  which  attend  its  use  for  domestic  purposes,  all  sug¬ 
gest  that  the  time  is  not  distant  when  this  great  want  of  our  city  will 
be  supplied.  As  an  examination  of  the  capacity  and  purity  of  the 
water  of  the  ponds  in  the  neighborhood  of  our  city  is  a  necessary 
preliminary  work,  which  must  be  performed  under  the  supervision  of 
a  competent  engineer,  whose  services,  when  rendered,  must  be  com- 


Vlll 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 


pensated,  and  as  at  no  future  time  will  the  labor  and  expense  of  the 
necessary  surveys  be  less,  there  appears  to  be  no  valid  reason  for 
delay.  If  during  the  present  season  this  work  should  be  accom¬ 
plished,  the  facts  gathered  and  opinions  submitted  will  furnish  all 
our  citizens  with  reliable  information  to  assist  them  in  determining 
whence  our  water  supply  must  come.  This  highly  important 'ques¬ 
tion  should  be  settled  as  soon  as  possible,  for  whatever  difference  of 
opinion  may  exist  as  to  the  immediate  necessity  for  water,  nO'  one  can 
doubt  that  such  a  necessity  will  arise,  in  a  few  years  at  most,  if  our 
city  continues  to  thrive.  There  will  then  remain  to  be  obtained  the 
necessary  legislative  authority  to  enable  the  city  to  possess  the  desig¬ 
nated  supply,  leaving  to  a  future  city  government,  or  to  the  people, 
the  naming  of  the  time  when  it  shall  be  introduced.  In  view  of  tho 
reasons  adduced,  and  believing  the  interests  of  the  city  would  thereby 
be  promoted,  your  Committee  ask  that  they  may  be  authorized  to 
employ  a  competent  engineer  to  make  all  necessary  surveys  and  pre¬ 
pare  a  report,  and  for  this  purpose  they  ask  for  the  adoption  of  the? 
accompanying  Order. 

In  Board  of  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  ) 
April  12,  1870.  ) 

Ordered^  That  the  Joint  Special  Committee  on  the  Introduction 
of  Water  be,  and  they  hereby  are,  authorized  and  instructed  to 
examine  and  report  upon  the  best  sources  for  a  supply  of  pure  water 
for  the  use  of  the  city  ;  and  for  this  purpose  said  Committee  are  em¬ 
powered  to  employ  such  assistance  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties  as 
they  may  deem  necessary,  the  expense  thereof  to  be  charged  to  the 
Appropriation  for  Contingencies. 

Sent  down  for  concurrence. 

BENJ.  H.  JONES,  City  Clerk. 

In  Common  Council,  April  27,  1870. 

Amended  by  limiting  the  expense  to  be  incurred  under  the  order 
to  four  thousand  dollars.  RUFUS  KIMBALL,  Clerk. 

In  Board  of  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  May  2,  1870. 

Amendment  concurred. 

BENJ.  II.  JONES,  City  Clerk. 


ON  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  WATER. 


IX 


UndGr  the  instructions  contained  in  the  foregoing 
order  your  committee  have  acted.  The  consideration 
of  so  important  a  question  as  a  water  supply  for  a  large 
and  growing  city,  the  great  outlay  required  to  introduce 
it,  and  the  importance  of  presenting  a  report  of  the 
investigation  with  a  weight  of  authority  that  should 
gain  the  confidence  of  the  community,  induced  your 
committee  to  engage  the  services  of  Wm.  J.  Me  Alpine, 
Esq.,  of  Albany,  as  consulting  Engineer.  His  reputa¬ 
tion  as  a  man  of  scientific  attainments,  his  large  expe¬ 
rience,  covering  a  period  of  thirty  years,  and  his  prac¬ 
tical  acquaintance  with  questions  of  this  character,  gave 
to  your  committee  an  assurance  of  reliability  in  the 
facts  he  should  report  and  in  the  opinions  he  might 
express.  Under  his  direction  the  investigation  has 
proceeded.  The  sources  of  supply  in  this  vicinity  have 
all  been  carefully  examined,  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  water  they  will  furnish  has  been  determined,  and 
estimates  of  the  cost  of  introducing  it  from  the  sources 
which  were  regarded  as  ample  for  a  supply,  have  been 
made.  An  elaborate  report  has  been  prepared,  in 
which  are  discussed  the  questions  relating  to  a  water 
supply,  and  containing  the  facts  and  data  gathered 
while  pursuing  the  investigation.  The  full  and  ex¬ 
haustive  treatment  of  the  subject  leaves  for  your  com¬ 
mittee  the  simple  duty  of  submitting  that  report,  stating 
that  it  has  their  hearty  endorsement. 

In  this  connection  the  committee  ask  leave  to  present 
a  report  on  two  petitions  referred  to  them,  signed  by 
b 


X 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 


several  of  our  large  shoe  manufacturers,  asking  that 
they  he  allowed  the  use  of  the  Flax  Pond  water  in  their 
factories.  As  pipes  had  been  laid  from  that  pond,  at 
the  expense  of  the  city,  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
a  supply  of  water  for  use  at  fires,  it  was  thought  by 
many  that  the  city  might  also  avail  itself  of  this  supply 
for  such  further  use  as  the  wants  of  our  citizens  might 
call  for.  But  the  fiow  of  that  pond  is  claimed  as  pri¬ 
vate  property,  and  only  by  consent  of  the  party  claiming 
ownership,  verbally  given,  does  the  city  provide  this 
protection  to  property.  For  other  purposes  its  use  has 
been  persistently  denied,  except  upon  such  conditions 
as  seemed  to  your  committee  burdensome.  No  more 
liberal  proposition  was  submitted  to  them,  until  other 
arrangements  were  substantially  concluded,  than  to  al¬ 
low  the  use  of  the  water  for  manufacturing  and  other 
purposes  to  such  citizens  as  might  desire  it,  upon  the 
condition  that  the  entire  receipts  from  its  sale  should 
be  received  by  the  party  claiming  the  right  to  control 
it,  and  consent  given  him  to  tap  the  pipes  for  this  pur¬ 
pose.  As  this  pond  and  its  flow  is  believed  by  many 
of  our  citizens  to  be  the  property  of  the  city,  and  upon 
a  full  presentation  of  the  case  before  the  courts  would 
be  so  decided,  not  wishing  to  complicate  the  question 
by  any  agreement  in  which  the  city  should  seem  to 
acknowledge  an  ownership  by  others,  and  preferring 
to  leave  the  settlement  of  the  rights  of  all  parties  until 
it  should  be  determined  that  this  pond  was  desirable  as 
a  source  of  supply  for  general  purposes,  your  commit- 


ON  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  WATER. 


XI 


tee  sought  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  petitioners  in 
another  direction.  Breed’s  Pond,  situated  about  two 
miles  from  the  centre  of  the  city,  was  offered  for  sale 
for  so  small  a  sum  as  to  invite  consideration.  An 
engineer  was  employed  to  make  a  survey  of  the  water¬ 
shed  and  to  determine  the  quantity  of  water  it  would 
yield.  The  report  showed  its  supply  to  be  an  average 
of  about  one  million  gallons  daily,  and  the  storage 
capacity  of  the  pond  to  be  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  million  gallons.  As  the  immediate  demand  did 
not  include  a  supply  for  domestic  use,  —  being  advised 
that  for  other  purposes  the  quantity  it  would  furnish 
would  be  more  than  ample, — the  committee  were  unani¬ 
mously  of  the  opinion  that  the  purchase  of  this  pond 
would  be  for  the  interests  of  the  city.  Besides  the 
pond,  the  property  consists  of  about  two  acres  of  tillage 
land,  three  ordinary  dwelling  houses,  and  a  three-story 
factory  building,  with  barn  and  other  outbuildings, 
upon  which  an  insurance  is  effected  for  $8,100.  As 
the  pipes  laid  from  Flax  Pond  would,  with  but  trifling 
loss,  be  equally  serviceable  in  conducting  the  water 
from  Breed’s  Pond,  the  City  Council  were  recommended 
to  authorize  the  purchase  and  make  the  necessary  ap¬ 
propriations  for  the  outlay  required.  With  greater 
unanimity  than  is  often  accorded  in  matters  of  this  im¬ 
portance,  the  appropriations  were  made  and  the  com¬ 
mittee  instructed  to  buy  the  property,  at  a  price  not 
to  exceed  twenty-one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 
Thirty  thousand  dollars  was  also  appropriated  for  the 


XU 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 


repair  of  the  dam,  the  laying  of  pipe,  and  other  inci¬ 
dental  expenses.  The  committee,  however,  did  not 
complete  the  purchase  until  the  engineer  engaged  in 
the  general  water  survey  had  carefully  examined  the 
question  of  its  supply,  and  had  assured  them  of  the  ac¬ 
curacy  of  the  previous  survey.  We  thus  had  the  con¬ 
current  favorable  opinion  of  .two  eminent  hydraulic 
engineers  before  any  action  was  taken  in  the  premises. 
Supported  by  such  authority,  the  committee  were  rea¬ 
sonably  certain  that  no  mistake  could  be  made  in  the 
purchase. 

Flax  Pond  had  also  at  this  time  been  determined  to 
be  insufficient  for  a  permanent  supply,  and  if  taken  for 
that  purpose,  the  city  in  a  few  years  would  need  the  ^ 
additional  quantity  which  Breed’s  Pond  will  furnish. 

The  laying  of  the  pipes  and  the  work  at  the  pond  is 
now  so  far  forwarded  as  to  ensure  an  early  supply  of 
water  from  this  source.  The  contract  for  putting  in 
the  pipe  and  hydrants  from  the  point  at  the  head  of 
Federal  Street  to  which  the  pipes  were  already  laid,  to 
the  pond,  was  awarded  to  George  H.  Norman,  of  New¬ 
port,  E.  I.,  who  has  constructed  many  of  the  water 
works  of  neighboring  cities,  which  are  models  of 
strength,  durability  and  perfect  adaptation  to  the  pur¬ 
poses  required,  and  is  so  well  known  throughout  the 
country  as  an  extensive  and  reliable  contractor  as  to 
guarantee  success  in  whatever  work  he  undertakes. 

The  work  at  the  pond,  under  the  direction  of  the 
committee,  is  being  executed  by  George  H.  Bishop,  of 


ON  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  WATER. 


Xlll 


Meriden,  Conn.,  an  engineer  of  high  reputation,  who 
has  more  than  exceeded  the  anticipations  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  in  the  thorough,  economical,  and  yet  rapid  man¬ 
ner  in  which  he  has  pushed  the  work. 

We  confidently  believe  that  the  expenditure  to  make 
the  pond  available  will  prove  to  be  judiciously  invested 
in  providing  an  abundant  supply  of  water  for  the  ex¬ 
tinguishment  of  fires,  for  manufacturing  and  other 
purposes,  and  thereby  adding  new  facilities  and  new 
incentives  to  the  development  of  the  business  of  our 
growing  city,  now  almost  the  only  city  in  the  United 
States  of  equal  population  which  has  not  or  is  not  pre¬ 
paring  to  supply  itself  with  pure  water  by  some  system 
of  water  works. 

Our  report  is  properly  only  an  introduction  to  the 
report  of  the  Engineer  and  accompanying  chemical 
analyses,  and  a  brief  historical  account  of  the  present 
phase  of  our  water  question. 

We  conclude,  asking  of  the  City  Council  and  citizens 
a  careful  and  impartial  consideration  of  the  whole  sub¬ 
ject  matter. 

Eespectfully  submitted, 

EDWIN  WALDEN, 

GEO.  F.  BREED, 

E.  A.  INGALLS, 

NATHAN  M.  HAWKES, 

O.  G.  PEARSON, 

ARNOLD  MARTIN, 

WM.  H.  RADDIN. 


REPORT  OF  ENGINEER 


REPORT 

OF 

WM.  J.  MOALPINE,  ENGINEER. 


Lynn,  August  Ist^  1870. 

To  Hon.  Edwin  Walden.,  May  or  ^  and  the  Joint  Special 

Committee  of  the  City  Council  on  the  Introduction  of 

Water. 

Gentlemen  :  —  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  orally 
addressing  the  Committee,  on  the  question  of  supplying 
the  city  of  Lynn  with  pure  and  wholesome  water,  and 
of  verbally  stating  the  results  of  the  field  examinations 
and  estimates. 

The  Mayor  and  others  of  the  Committee  have  re¬ 
quested  me  to  embrace  in  my  written  report  such 
statements  as  I  have  made  orally,  on  the  general  con¬ 
siderations  which  should  govern  in  the  determination 
of  this  question,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  whole 
subject  before  the  citizens,  and  of  giving  them  the  same 
information  which  your  Committee  have  had. 

To  furnish  this  information  to  all  classes  of  the  peo- 
1 


2 


pie  of  a  large  city,  renders  it  necessary  to  state  some 
of  the  general  principles  given  in  the  text  books,  and 
of  the  knowledge  already  possessed  by  many  who  will 
read  this  report. 

The  Engineers  of  this  day  have  constructed  so  many 
of  these  water  works,  and  have  made  so  many  reports 
thereon,  that  one  of  the  character  desired  by  your  com¬ 
mittee,  compels  me  to  restate  much  which  I  have  given 
in  other  of  my  water  reports,  and  this  may  perhaps 
lead,  in  some  cases,  to  an  apparent  quotation  from  the 
reports  of  others  in  the  profession,  who  have  followed 
a  similar  line  of  argument  and  have  arrived  at  the  same 
conclusions  that  I  have  heretofore  done. 

The  subject  will  be  presented  in  this  report,  under 
the  followings  general  heads  : 

I.  The  value  of  a  public  water  supply  to  a  city ; 

II.  The  source  of  all  fresh  water  and  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  water  derived  from  particular  dis¬ 
tricts  ; 

III.  The  quantity  demanded  for  the  present  and 
future  population; 

IV.  The  plans  for  introducing  the  water  from  the 
several  available  sources,  including  its  storing  and  dis¬ 
tribution  ; 

V.  The  estimates  of  cost  of  the  several  plans ; 

VI.  The  comparison  of  the  plans  and  the  conclu¬ 
sions  in  regard  to  the  one  best  adapted  to  the  cuxum- 
stances  of  the  case. 


3 


I.  THE  VALUE  OF  A  PUBLIC  WATER  SUPPLY. 

The  practical  experience  of  the  majority  of  the  cities 
and  large  towns  of  the  northern  United  States,  con¬ 
tinued  through  many  years,  has  universally  demon¬ 
strated  the  following  advantages  of  a  public  water 
supply. 

1.  That  the  water  is  furnished  of  superior  quality, 
in  greater  quantity,  and  at  less  expense  than  by  wells, 
or  any  individual  method  ; 

2.  That  its  introduction  always  increases  the  health, 
comfort  and  convenience  of  all  classes  of  citizens  ; 

3.  That  it  diminishes  the  number  and  greatly  lessens 
the  destruction  caused  by  conflagrations,  and  indirectly, 
if  not  directly,  lessens  Are  insurance  rates,  often  to  an 
extent  approaching  the  interest  on  the  cost  of  the  water 
works ; 

4.  Its  introduction  induces  new  settlers  and  addi¬ 
tional  investments  and  business, .  especially  of  the 
smaller  class  of  manufactories,  while  the  absence  of 
such  a  water  supply  may  often  prevent  or  divert  more 
business  from  the  city  than  the  cost  of  the  works  ; 

5.  An  abundant  water  supply,  thoroughly  distri¬ 
buted,  promotes  cleanly  habits  among  all  classes,  and 
greatly  lessens  disease,  and  thus  improves  the  material 
interests  of  the  city. 

The  usual  objections  urged  against  a  public  distribu¬ 
tion  of  water  are  as  follows  : 


4 


1.  Doubts  as  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  water 

from  the  new  source  ;  , 

2.  Fears  that  the  cost  of  the  new  works  will  greatly 
exceed  the  estimates,  and  that  the  revenue  therefrom 
will  fall  short  of  the  expenses,  and  that  the  expenditure 
may  be  extravagant,  or  applied  to  selfish  purposes,  and 
that  the  patronage  may  be  prostituted  to  personal  polit¬ 
ical  purposes,  and  that  these  apprehensions  of  a  large 
outlay  will  saddle  a  heavy  debt  and  taxation  on  prop¬ 
erty,  and  thus  deter  settlers  and  business  from  the 
city; 

3.  Contentment  with,  the  present  supply,  arising  from 
the  want  of  knowledge  of  the  excessive  impurity  of 
wells,  of  their  first  cost  and  maintenance,  and  liability 
of  failure,  or  increased  impurity  in  dry  seasons,  and  the 
daily  tax  on  labor,  which  they  involve  in  drawing  and 
distributing  the  water. 

Several  of  these  subjects  will  be  discussed  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  other  general  subdivisions  of  the  report. 
The  others  will  now  be  noticed. 

The. quality  of  the  water  recommended,  in  compari¬ 
son  with  that  now  supplied  from  wells  and  cisterns,  will 
be  examined  elsewhere.  The  quantity  provided  for  by 
the  proposed  plan,  is  sixty  gallons  per  day  for  each 
inhabitant,  which  is  four  times  as  much  as  is  used  for. 
domestic  purposes,  when  it  has  to  be  hoisted  from  wells 
by  hand  power  for  each  habitation.  The  cost  of  the 
labor  of  the  latter,  and  of  maintaining  the  wells  and 


5 


hoisting  power,  is  several  times  greater  than  the  usual 
charges  from  a  public  water  supply. 

Baths  and  water  closets  have  changed  in  late  years, 
from  luxuries  to  the  necessities  of  modern  civilization, 
and  with  a  liberal  use  of  water,  epidemics  are  not  only 
prevented,  but  disease  is  lessened  among  the  poorer 
classes,  and  thus  the  poor  rates  are  diminished  and 
more  labor  is  given  to  the  community,  which  is  in 
itself  the  true  source  of  material  prosperity  to  all 
communities. 

With  an  ample  supply  of  water,  well  distributed, 
experience  has  shown,  that  the  household  itself,  in  a 
vast  number  of  cases,  is  able  to  put  out  the  small  be¬ 
ginnings  of  fires,  which,  without  such  provision,  would 
in  a  short  time  defy  the  efforts  of  the  whole  the  depart¬ 
ment.  It  furnishes  water  under  pressure,  ordinarily 
sufiicient  to  apply  directly  to  burning  buildings,  without 
the  aid  of  fire  engines,  and  in  all  cases  where  these 
engines  are  used,  their  power  and  effectiveness  is 
greatly  increased."^ 

Almost  every  city  in  our  land  has  been  visited  with 
one  or  more  of  those  extensive  confiagrations,  which 

*  On  the  13th  of  July,  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department,  at  my  request, 
made  two  trials  of  the  steam  fire  engine.  Gen.  Grant,  which,  with  about  63  pounds 
pressure  of  steam,  lifted  a  stream  of  water  5  feet  5  inches  and  forced  it  through  50  feet 
of  hose,  and  out  of  a  nozzle  of  I5  inches  diameter,  and  projected  it  to  a  horizontal  dis* 
tance  of  95  feet  (beyond  the  hose),  at  the  theoretic  rate  of  300  gallons  per  minute,  with  the 
pressure  at  the  nozzle  of  7^  pounds  per  square  inch. 

On  the  second  trial,  with  the  steam  at  66  pounds,  it  forced  the  water  through  100  feet 
of  hose  and  projected  it  horizontally  91  feet,  at  the  theoretic  rate  of  400  gallons  per  minute, 
with  a  nozzle  pressure  of  5  pounds. 

When  your  water  works  are  complete  on  the  plan  herein  recommended,  a  hydrant  will 
throw  through  a  hose  of  the  same  length,  a  vertical  stream  of  the  same  size  100  feet  per¬ 
pendicular. 


6 


have  destroyed  more  property  than  the  cost  of  water 
works,  constructed  on  the  most  liberal  scale.  It  is  true 
that  large  conflagrations  sometimes  occur  in  places  sup¬ 
plied  with  water,  but  it  is  self-evident  that  the  liability 
to  such  accident  and  the  amount  of  damage  caused  is 
much  lessened  by  having  always  on  hand  an  abundant 
supply  of  water  under  pressure. 

The  rates  of  insurance  on  property  against  losses  by 
Are  will  therefore  be  materially  lessened,  and  thus  in¬ 
directly  contribute  largely  towards  the  repayment  of  the 
cost  of  water  works. 

W ater  for  steam  engines  is  required  to  be  more  pure 
than  can  generally  be  obtained  from  wells  in  a  city. 
The  absence  of  such  w^ater  prevents  the  introduction  of  a 
machinery  to  a  large  extent. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  experience  of  all  cities,  where 
water  has  been  introduced,  has  been  to  induce  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  a  great  many  of  the  smaller  class  of  manufac¬ 
tories,  and  in  the  aggregate  to  largely  increase  business, 
and  thus  add  considerably  to  the  means  of  paying  not 
only  the  expenses  for  water,  but  also  those  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  the  city. 

The  objections  to  a  public  water  supply  will  now  be 
considered. 

The  most  important  of  these  objections  are  discussed 
elsewhere  in  the  report,  and  it  may  be  briefly  replied 
in  general  terms,  that  the  present  examination  demon¬ 
strates,  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  that  an  ample 
supply  of  pure  and  wholesome  water  can  be  procured 


7 


and  distributed  to  nearly  every  building,  for  domestic 
and  manufacturing  purposes,  and  for  the  present  and 
future  requirements  of  the  city,  at  a  remarkably  small 
outlay,  and  that  the  revenue  will  repay  the  cost  of 
maintenance,  and  contribute  so  far  towards  the  interest 
on  the  cost  of  construction  as  not  to  seriously  encumber 
or  tax  property,  and  that  instead  of  keeping  away  set¬ 
tlers  and  business,  the  introduction  of  water  upon  this 
plan  will  bring  in  new  citizens  and  encourage  additional 
manufactories,  and  thereby  add  to  the  wealth  and  lessen 
the  taxes  on  the  present  property. 

The  discussion  of  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
water,  from  the  source  herein  recommended,  will  be 
considered  in  another  place,  remarking  only  that  the 
method  of  determining  both  of  these  questions  is  so 
accurate,  as  to  leave  no  reason  for  doubt  on  the  minds 
of  candid  persons. 

The  cost  of  too  many  of  our  public  works  has  un¬ 
fortunately  exceeded  the  previous  estimates  of  the 
engineers.  In  many  of  these  cases  this  has  not  been 
wholly  the  fault  of  the  engineer.  At  the  commence- 
ihent  of  such  an  undertaking,  neither  the  officers  in 
charge,  nor  the  engineer,  have  fully  appreciated  the 
extent  of  work  necessary  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
future  growth  of  the  city.  As  it  progresses,  they  begin 
to  realize  the  necessity  of  larger  works  than  at  first 
contemplated,  and  these  enlargements  have  greatly 
added  to  the  cost.  In  many  cases  the  engineer  has 
been  urged  to  keep  his  plans  and  estimates  down  to  the 


8 


lowest  economical  limit,  to  avoid  alarm  to  the  more 
cautious  citizens. 

There  are  occasional  cases  where  the  engineers 
want  of  knowledge  of  the  expensive  character  of  some 
of  the  works  has  led  him  to  estimate  them  at  rates 
prevailing  for  less  costly  structures.  With  the  present 
knowledge  of  the  cost  of  so  many  water  works  already 
built,  there  is  but  little  difficulty  in  estimating  before¬ 
hand,  approximately  accurate,  and  if  the  construction 
is  entrusted  to  officers  of  integrity  and  reasonable  skill, 
there  need  be  no  fear  of  extravagant  expenditure  or 
misapplication  of  the  funds  and  patronage. 

At  the  ordinary  rates  charged  for  water  in  other 
cities,  the  annual  revenue  would  be  equal  to  about  one 
dollar  for  each  person.  In  the  larger  cities,  the  annual 
revenue  gives  a  mean  of  about  forty  cents  per  lineal 
foot  of  pipe,  or  two  thousand  dollars  per  mile.  In 
smaller  cities  the.  houses  are  further  apart,  and  unless 
the  charges  for  water  are  made  higher,  the  revenue 
would  be  less  per  mile  of  pipe. 

A  tariff  of  charges  for  the  use  of  water,  sufficiently 
high  to  repay  the  expenses  of  maintenance  and  the 
interest  on  the  cost  of  the  works,  would  be  less  than 
the  actual  present  cost  from  wells,  and  would  not 
prove  oppressively  burdensome  upon  the  citizens  ; 
but  the  low  rates  already  fixed  in  neighboring  cities 
will  control  your  rates,  and  hence  you  ought  not  to 
expect,  for  several  years,  a  revenue  much  greater  than 
the  annual  cost  of  running  the  engine  and  maintaining 


9 


the  works.  The  comparatively  small  outlay,  which  is 
requmed  to  give  you  an  ample  supply,  will  enable  you, 
sooner  than  your  neighbors,  to  make  your  water  works 
^self-sustaining.  In  one  city,  where  I  have  been  in 
charge  for  a  dozen  years,  the  works  now  repay  the 
annual  expenses,  the  interest  on  the  cost,  and  enough 
beyond  to  extend  the  pipes  several  miles  every  year. 

Under  the  head  of  the  quality  of  the  water  will  be 
discussed  that  of  water  furnished  from  wells  in  a  city. 
The  analyses  of  these  well  waters,  in  every  city  in  the 
Union,  show  them  all  to  be  entirely  unlit  for  drinking, 
and  many  of  them  deleterious  to  health. 

The  limpidity  and  comparative  coolness  of  such 
water,  and  especially  when  ice  is  freely  used,  disguises 
to  the  taste,  to  some  extent,  the  impurities  which  are 
chemically  united  with  the  water,  but  in  most  cases 
these  ingredients  give  a  certain  flavor,  which  by  long 
use  becomes  even  grateful  to  the  taste. 

When  water  is  first  introduced,  many  persons  refuse 
to  give  up  the  use  of  their  accustomed  wells,  but  there 
is  not  a  single  city  where  water  has  been  introduced, 
where,  after  a  very  few  years,  all  of  the  wells  have  not 
been  abandoned,  and  the  same  result  will  follow  in 
your  city. 

With  the  water  from  the  new  sourcO,  side  by  side, 
with  that  from  your  wells  and  cisterns,  the  contrast  be¬ 
tween  the  purity,  quantity,  cost  and  convenience  of  the 
one  over  the  other,  will  be  so  great,  as  to  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  the  result. 


10 


In  closing  this  branch  of  the  subject  I  may  remark, 
that  the  universal  experience  of  all  other  places  has 
been,  that  when  a  feasible  project  for  introducing  a 
water  supply  has  been  once  started,  it  sooner  or  later 
prevails,  and  when  such  plans  have  been  carried  out, 
and  the  benefits  practically  demonstrated,  it  has  an¬ 
swered  all  of  the  previous  objections,  and  secured  for  it 
universal  appxobation. 


II.  THE  SOURCE,  QUALITY  AND  QUANTITY. 

In  the  mixed  population  of  a  city,  there  are  always 
prejudices  and  fallacies  in  regard  to  this  branch  of  the 
subject,  which  it  is  advisable  to  remove,  by  a  statement 
of  the  received  opinions  of  the  source  of  water  and  the 
changes  which  it  undergoes  before  it  is  used. 

Water  in  its  three  fold  condition  of  vapor,  liquid  and 
solid,  performs  some  of  the  most  important  functions  in 
the  natural  and  artificial  purposes  of  life.  In  the  first, 
invisibly  associated  with  the  ah:,  it  nourishes  vegetation ; 
in  the  second,  it  forms  one  of  the  components  of  almost 
every  substance  in  nature,  and  in  the  third  condition  it 
protects  vegetation,  and  prevents  the  injurious  effects  of 
the  low  temperature,  which  gives  to  it  a  solid  form. 

The  parent  source  of  all  of  the  fresh  water  on  the 
earth,  is  the  ocean ;  and  the  atmosphere  is  the  vehicle 
by  which  it  is  conveyed  over  and  precipitated  upon  the 
land,  from  whence  after  performing  its  various  func- 


11 


tions,  it  flows  back  to  the  sea,  to  be  again  exhaled  and 
distributed  over  the  land,  and  has  thus  incessantly  cir¬ 
culated  for  ages. 

The  amount  of  watery  vapor  in  the  air  at  any  given 
time,  is  determined  by  its  temperature.  With  an  in¬ 
crease  of  temperature,  the  air  will  absorb  more  vapor, 
and  with  a  diminution  the  excess  will  be  thrown  off. 
The  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  is  constantly  chang¬ 
ing,  day  by  day,  day  and  night,  and  even  hourly,  and 
therefore  this  process  of  absorption  and  precipitation  is 
in  constant  action,  and  produces  the  palpable  changes 
of  drought  and  moisture,  besides  a  vast  imperceptible 
action  of  the  same  kind,  in  the  growth,  ripening  and 
decay  of  vegetation  and  animal  life. 

The  winds,  apparently  so  capricious,  are  governed  in 
a  general  way  by  certain  fixed  laws.  The  increasing 
temperature  and  velocity  of  rotation  of  the  earth,  from 
the  poles  towards  the  equator,  give  the  first  general  di¬ 
rection  to  the  winds.  These  great  currents  encounter¬ 
ing  the  elevated  ranges  of  land,  are  deflected  and  pro¬ 
duce  eddies  and  irregularities  near  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  but  there  will  in  all  places,  be  found  a  general 
direction  to  the  winds.  The  warm  atmosphere  from 
towards  the  South,  moving  over  the  face  of  the  Ocean, 
absorbs  its  moisture  until  fully  saturated,  and  then 
blown  over  the  land  and  driven  upward,  into  contact 
with  cooler  strata  of  air,  or  of  the  earth,  its  tempera¬ 
ture  is  lowered  and  it  yields  its  excess  of  moisture  in 
dew,  rain  or  snow,  and  thei;  passing  onward,  to  regions 


12 


of  higher  temperature,  is  again  warmed  and  renews  its 
absorption  of  watery  vapor,  to  be  again  discharged  on 
the  land. 

The  water  which  is  precipitated  upon  the  earth,  is  in 
part  absorbed  by  growing  vegetation,  and  the  remainder 
flows  off  through  the  superficial  water  courses,  to  the 
brooks  and  rivers,  and  back  to  the  ocean,  or  it  pene¬ 
trates  the  porous  soil  in  drops,  which  unite  together 
beneath  the  surface,  in  threads,  veins  and  strata,  and 
descending  until  they  meet  some  impenetrable  stratum, 
over  which  they  flow  subterraneously  and  reappear  in 
seeping  places,  springs,  and  sometimes  in  streams  of 
considerable  size. 

'  Springs  derive  their  supply  from  these,  rain-drops, 
which  have  penetrated  the  porous  soil,  and  wells  are 
merely  the  interception  of  these  underground  threads 
and  veins  of  water ;  while  ponds  and  lakes  are  formed 
in  depressed  places,  by  the  same  drops  collecting  in  a 
mass  over  a  substratum  of  soil  or  rock,  through  which 
they  cannot  percolate,  and  then  the  water  rises  to  the 
brim  of  the  natural  water-tight  basin  and  flows  over  in 
a  brook  or  river. 

Water  is  never  found  in  nature  in  a  perfectly  pure 
condition.  In  its  vapory  form,  it  has  a  strong  affinity 
for  the  other  gaseous  substances  with  which  the  air  is 
charged  from  effete  matter ;  and  in  its  liquid  form,  it 
is  a  solvent  of  many  substances  which  it  is  brought  into 
contact  with  upon  and  beneath  the  earth.  Water  is 
most  pure  when  it  is  first  evaporate  dinmid-ocean,  but 


13 


as  the  vapory  winds  are  driven  over  the  land,  as  before 
stated,  it  absorbs  the  gases  which  are  encountered  in 
the  air,  and  when  it  falls  to  the  earth  and  flows  over  or 
beneath  it,  it  takes  up  in  solution  decaying  vegetable 
and  animal  matter,  and  the  earthy  salts  and  other  inju¬ 
rious  soluble  substances.  Rain  water,  falling  through 
a  pure  atmosphere,  as  outside  of  towns,  upon  a  clean 
surface,  is  the  purest  form  in  which  it  can  be  found. 
That  which  falls  upon  a  pure  sandy  soil,  free  from 
vegetation,  is  the  next  purest. 

Vegetation  and  animal  life,  while  growing,  are  ab¬ 
sorbents  of  deleterious  matter  in  the  air  and  water,  but 
in  decaying,  give  out  that  which  is  noxious  to  both. 
Surface  water  is  therefore  the  least  pure  in  the  autumn, 
when  vegetation  begins  its  decay,  and  the  most  so  in 
the  winter  and  spring,  when  no  decomposition  occurs, 
or  when  vegetation  is  growing ;  while  spring  and  well 
waters,  which  derive  their  impurities  from  earthy  solu¬ 
tions,  are  equally  impure  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
according  to  the  presence  or  absence  of  such  solvent 
materials  in  the  soil. 

The  foregoing  description  of  the  natural  operations 
to  which  water  is  subjected,  is  necessary  to  enable  us 
to  determine  which  is  best  for  the  purposes  under  con¬ 
sideration. 

For  drinking,  water  should  be  wholesome,  clear,  cool 
and  aerated ;  and  for  other  domestic  and  manufacturing 
purposes,  it  must  be  soft  and  limpid. 

For  a  public  water  supply,  therefore,  the  water  should 


14 


be  selected  haying  the  following  characteristics  in  the 
highest  degree  possible,  viz  :  first,  purity ;  next,  soft¬ 
ness  ;  and  next,  limpidity.* 

The  atmosphere  over  a  city  is  always  contaminated 
with  the  gaseous  products  of  combustion  and  those 
arising  from  decaying  animal  and  vegetable  matter, 
garbage  and  sewage  matter,  which  is  strewn  over  va¬ 
cant  spaces  so  freely. 

The  roofs  of  houses  are  covered  with  these  substan¬ 
ces,  condensed  from  the  gases,  and  with  soot,  dust  from 
foecal  matter  in  the  streets,  and  decaying  woody  matter 
on  shingled  roofs,  and  metallic  oxides  on  metallic  roofs. 
The  rain  water  absorbs  all  of  these,  and  when  stored 
in  close  cisterns,  loses  its  aeration  and  becomes  insipid, 
and  unless  cooled  with  ice,  is  repugnant  to  the  taste. 

That  such  water  is  very  impure,  is  evident  from  the 
rapid  production  of  animalculae  in  it,  which  shows  the 
presence  of  the  food  necessary  to  maintain  that  minute 
but  vast  quantity  of  animal  life. 

It  is  supposed  that'  filtration  will  remove  the  impuri¬ 
ties  of  water,  but  those  in  ordinary  use  only  remove 
such  matter  as  is  suspended  in,  and  none  of  that  which 
is  chemically  united  with,  the  water;  and  chemical 
filters,  to  separate  the  latter,  are  expensive,  and  must 
be  changed  wdth  the  constantly  changing  condition  of 
the  water,  and  are  never  kept  in  use  for  any  long 
period  of  time. 


*  If  all  of  the  rain  water  which  falls  in  a  city  was  stored,  it  would  furnish  a  supply 
sufficient  in  quantity  for  domestic  uses,  but  it  would  be  .very  objectionable  in  quality. 


15 


Spring  water  is  rarely  found  in  abundance  in  a  city, 
and  is  usually  the  least  pure  of  the  waters  of  the  neigh¬ 
borhood,  while  outside  of  a  city  it  is  much  more  free 
from  such  impurities. 

The  temperature  of  water  from  deep  seated  springs 
is  that  of  the  earth  at  such  depth,  which  is  about  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  place  for  the  year.  At  the 
point  of  issue,  the  temperature  of  spring  water  changes 
a  little  with  that  of  the  season,  so  that  deep  seated 
springs  at  Lynn  would  probably  have  a  temperature  of 
about  45 in  winter  and  55^^  in  summer.  Spring  water 
is  usually  highly  charged  with  air,  and  this,  with  its 
low  temperature  in  summer  and  high  in  winter,  com¬ 
pared  with  that  of  the  atmosphere,  renders  it  so  grate¬ 
ful  to  the  taste.  The  earthy  salts  in  such  water  fre¬ 
quently  renders  it  more  pleasant  to  the  taste,  but  they 
are  not  always  healthful. 

Water  from  wells  in  cities  is  always  unfit  for  drink¬ 
ing,  and  in  most  cases  is  very  deleterious  to  health. 
These  contaminations  are  not  the  less  real  because  they 
are  not  usually  observed.  The  gases  of  dissolving  mat¬ 
ter  frequently  impart  a  sparkling  life  to  well  water, 
and  a  small  mixture  of  earthy  salts  adds  a  flavor,  and, 
with  a  temperature  lowered  by  ice,  induces  many  to 
express  a  preference  for  such  mixtures  over  more  pure 
but  (to  them)  less  palatable  water. 

This  popular  fallacy  often  forms  one  of  the  strongest 
objections  to  any  scheme  of  public  water  supply.  In¬ 
vestigations  have  been  made  all  over  the  country,  which 


16 


show  that  some  of  the  most  serious  diseases  arise  from 
the  use  of  well  water  in  cities. 

In  times  of  cholera,  the  progress  and  fatality  of  this 
disease  has  been  traced,  in  a  vast  number  of  cases, 
directly  to  the  use  of  impure  water  from  certain  wells, 
and  their  analyses,  compared  with  that  of  other  waters 
in  the  same  cities,  show  that  this  frightful  disease  is 
promoted  and  rendered  more  fatal  by  the  use  of  impure 
well  water. 

From  what  has  been  said  before,  it  will  be  seen  that 
well  water  becomes  charged  with  all  of  the  dissolving 
gases  in  the  city  atmosphere,  and  on  the  surface, 
with  the  solutions  of  decayed  animal  and  vegetable 
matter,  and  mingled  with  the  drainage  of  stables  and 
X^rivies,  which  have  entered  the  soil,  —  all  of  which 
combine  to  render  such  water  a  most  disgusting  solu¬ 
tion. 

Annexed  will  be  found  a  table  showing  the  character 
of  the  well  water,  which,  at  one  time,  had  been  used 
in  several  cities,  and  fully  bear  out  the  assertion,  that 
well  water  in  cities  is  not  fit  for  drinking. 

Water  from  wells  is  rarely  found  soft  enough  for 
washing,  and  resort  is  therefore  had  to  cisterns  of  rain 
water.  The  water  from  the  streams  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  Lynn  are  quite  soft,  and  after  their  introduc¬ 
tion  into  the  city  will  soon  be  used  exclusively  for 
washing.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  the  saving  in 
the  use  of  soap  alone,  between  well  water  and  tolerably 
pure  brook  water,  is  equal  to  one  dollar  per  annum  for 


17 


each  inhabitant,  and  a  saving  equally  great  will  be  made 
in  the  wear  and  tear  of  clothes. 

Mr.  Soyer,  the  most  eminent  cook  in  the  world,  says 
that  there  is  a  difference  of  one-half  in  the  time  re¬ 
quired  to  cook  vegetables  and  meats  in  hard  instead 
of  soft  water,  and  adds,  that  one-third  of  the  tea  used 
in  London  is  wasted  by  the  use  of  hard  water.  For 
drinking,  most  persons  only  regard  clearness,  coolness, 
and  flavor  in  water.  The  flrst  can  be  attained  either 
by  quiescence  or  Altering,  and  the  second  by  ice,  now 
so  universally  used,  and  which  merely  disguises  many 
of  its  impurities. 

Perfectly  pure  water  is  'tasteless,  and,  when  unae¬ 
rated,  is  insipid  ;  and  if  we  depended  upon  taste 
alone,  we  would  frequently  select  water  for  drinking 
which  would  be  deleterious,  as  is  no  doubt  the  case 
with  most  of  the  well  and  cistern  water  in  use  in 
cities. 

It  will  follow  from  this  discussion,  that  all  of  the 
water  which  is  obtained  from  wells  is  that  which  the 
excavation  of  the  wells  intercepts,  as  it  flows  sub- 
terraneously  through  the  soil.  The  quantity  which 
any  well  will  furnish  depends  merely  upon  the  area 
of  the  land  which  drains  into  it  and  the  porosity  of 
the  soil  to  receive  and  store  it.  If  the  ground  around 
a  well  was  level,  and  the  soil  equally  porous  in  all 
directions,  the  quantity  which  it  would  furnish  could 
be  approximately  determined.  But  wells  under  these 

conditions  are  rarely  met  with,  and  as  water  obtaina- 
3 


18 


ble  from  this  source  (wells)  can  only  be  stored  in  the 
interstices  of  the  surrounding  soil,  they  can  furnish 
only  a  limited  supply,  and  will  always  be  deficient  in 
a  dry  time. 

Occasionally  such  wells  intercept  some  subterraneous 
fiow  of  water,  from  a  source  at  a  considerable  distance, 
but  even  in  this  case  the  same  law  holds  good,  and  the 
capacity  of  supply  of  the  well  depends  simply  upon  its 
drainage  area.  By  an  economical  use  of  water,  wells 
will  generally  furnish  a  limited  supply  for  ordinary 
domestic  purposes,  but  so  many  of  them  fail  during  the 
dryest  times,  that,  as  a  rule,  they  must  be  considered  as 
unreliable. 

A  popular  idea  prevails  in  many  districts  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  that  artesian  wells  can  be  found,  which  will  supply 
large  quantities  of  water.  Within  my  own  knowledge, 
enormous  sums  have  been  expended  to  obtain  water 
from  this  source,  and  unsuccessfully.  A  moderate 
amount  of  knowledge  would,  in  most  of  these  cases, 
have  saved  the  projectors  the  large  sums  which  they 
have  uselessly  expended. 

In  Artois,  a  district  near  Paris  (from  which  these 
wells  derive  their  name),  there  is  a  peculiar  formation. 
A  large  area  of  highland  is  of  open,  porous  rock  and 
soil ;  superimposed  upon  this  (geologically)  is  a  water¬ 
tight  rock  and  soil,  and  below  it  is  a  similar  imperme¬ 
able  stratum. 

These  rocks,  pervious  and  impervious,  dip  from 
the  highland  around  the  basin  of  Paris  and  Artois, 


19 


under  the  former,  and  rise  again  upon  the  opposite 
hills. 

The  rain  water  which  falls  upon  the  highland  porous 
soil  sinks  into  it  under  this  basin,  and,  prevented  from 
escape  upward,  forms  a  large  subterranean  reservoir  of 
water,  contained  within  the  interstices  of  the  porous 
soil  and  cavernous  rocks.  When  borings  are  made,  as 
at  the  wells  of  Grenelle  and  Plesses,  through  the  im¬ 
pervious  superstratum  to  the  water-charged  rocks,  the 
water  rises  to  a  height  above  the  surface  of  the  ground 
corresponding  to  the  head  of  its  source,  and  spouting 
wells  ensue. 

This  whole  system  of  artesian  wells  may  be  familiarly 
illustrated  by  two  soup  plates  separated  by  coarse  sand. 
If  water  is  poured  into  the  sand  until  surcharged,  and 
a  hole  is  bored  through  the  upper  plate,  the  water  will 
rise  in  a  pipe  as  high  as  the  level  of  the  sand  at  the 
edge  of  the  plates. 

These  conditions  must  exist  wherever  artesian 
wells  are  found.  But  along  the  coast  of  New  Eng¬ 
land  the  stratification  of  the  rocks  is  nearly  vertical, 
and  rarely,  as  in  other  places,  follows  the  inclination 
of  the  valleys;  and  hence  in  such  places  it  is  idle 
to  seek  for  water  in  any  considerable  quantity  by  this 
method. 

The  waters  of  rapid  brooks  and  rivers  become  highly 
charged  with  air,  but  their  currents  abrade  the  banks 
and  bottom,  and  take  up  in  suspension  the  alluvial 
matter,  which  renders  them  turbid,  and  in  that  condh 


20 


tion  unfit  for  domestic  uses.  When  such  water  is  dis¬ 
charged  into  a  lake  or  artificial  reservoir,  and  allowed 
to  stand  quiet,  it  precipitates  all  of  the  heavy  portions 
of  such  suspended  matter,  and  becomes  clear  and  limpid. 
These  rapid  streams  also  gather  and  carry  forward  with 
them  a  considerable  amount  of  vegetable  matter,  which 
is  of  the  same  or  less  specific  gravity  as  the  water.  A 
warm  atmosphere  dissolves  the  latter  into  gases,  which 
arise  and  are  driven  off  by  the  winds,  and  a  process  of 
self-purification  goes  on,  which  greatly  improves  the 
water  thus  stored. 

Water  which  has  been  stored  for  use  in  some  of  our 
cities  has  sometimes  been  defiled  for  a  few  days  during 
the  warmest  weather,  by  the  rapid  production  of  ani- 
malculae  or  aquatic  vegetation,  the  seeds  of  which,  per¬ 
haps,  lie  dormant  within  the  body  of  the  water,  or  are 
carried  to  it  by  the  air,  and  are  generated  when  the 
water  has  remained  stagnant,  at  a  high  temperature, 
for  some  time,  and  probably  when  the  atmosphere  is 
in  a  certain  electric  condition.  The  conjunction  of 
all  of  the  causes  necessary  to  generate  this  minute 
life  occurs  only  at  long  intervals  of  years,  and  then 
only  exists  for  a  few  days,  and  the  first  fall  in  the 
temperature  or  the  first  brisk  breeze  destroys  the 
conditions  necessary  to  maintain  this  ephemeral  life, 
and,  following  a  general  law  of  nature,  they  die  and 
dissolve  into  gases  as  quickly  as  they  were  generated, 
and  in  a  few  days  the  water  is  as  pure  as  before. 
This  class  of  aquatic  vegetation,  and  also  animalculce. 


21 


are  brought  into  life  and  propagate  themselves  with 
astonishing  rapidity.* 

The  original  purity  of  the  water  is  no  protection 
against  this  contamination,  though  it  doubtless  lessens 
its  extent  and  frequency. 

In  the  plan  of  the  works  herewith  proposed,  there 
will  be  incidently  a  provision  which  with  care  and  watch¬ 
fulness  will  prevent  any  inconvenience  from  this  source. 
The  great  difference  in  the  elevation  of  the  pump  well 
and  the  reservoir  will  doubtless  prevent  both  at  the 
same  time  from  being  stagnant  long  enough  and  heated 
to  the  same  temperature  and  influenced  by  the  same 
electric  atmosphere,  to  produce  this  animal  or  vegeta¬ 
ble  life  at  the  same  time. 

If  the  water  from  the  sources  should  become  thus 
contaminated,  the  supply  to  the  city  can  be  furnished 
from  the  reservoir,  which  will  hold  a  fortnight’s  sup¬ 
ply  ;  and  if  the  latter  is  contaminated,  the  supply  can 
•  be  furnished  directly  from  the  pumps. 

Water  does  not  receive  or  part  with  caloric  freely, 
and  when  stored  in  large  and  deep  bodies,  maintains  an 
equal  temperature  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  The 
fierce  rays  of  the  noon-day  sun  and  currents  of  hot  air, 
in  contact  with  the  large  bodies-  of  water  proposed  to 
be  stored  in  the  reservoirs,  would  be  tempered  by  that 

*  Eain  water  which  one  day  shows  no  evidence  of  animal  life,  will  the  next  he  found 
teeming  with  animalculae.  In  hot  weather  the  body  of  a  dead  animal  will  in  a  few  days 
become  a  mass  of  living  matter ;  and  the  shallow,  stagnant  pools  of  water  along  the  way- 
side,  under  the  influence  of  great  heat  for  a  few  days,  wdl  be  covered  with  “  frog  spittle, 
a  species  of  vegetation.  Another  of  this  cl9,ss  will  propagate  itself  in  all  directions,  at  the 
rate  of  a  foot  an  hour. 


22 


of  the  cooler  nights  and  less  warmer  days,  so  as  to  give 
a  lower  temperature  in  summer  and  a  higher  one  in 
winter  than  that  of  the  streams  from  which  it  is  derived ; 
and  this  water,  conveyed  in  pipes  below  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  will  be  delivered  at  the  houses  at  a  very 
pleasant  and  equable  temperature. 

From  the  preceding  discussion,  the  character  of  the 
water  from  the  sources  under  examination  can  be  ap¬ 
proximately  determined  without  the  aid  of  a  chemical 
analysis. 

The  atmosphere  surrounding,  but  beyond  the  city,  is 
as  pure  as  possible,  and  is  not  contaminated  by  the  gases 
of  any  manufacturing  establishments. 

The  soil  is  chiefly  the  decomposition  of  the  primitive 
rocks,  which  have  been  washed  by  the  rains  of  ages, 
and  must  therefore  be  nearly  free  from  earthy  salts,  and 
are,  in  fact,  grand  filterers.  The  water  shed  is  covered 
with  a  moderate  amount  of  vegetation,  chiefly  trees  and 
shrubs,  the  decomposition  of  which,  in  former  times,  • 
has  united  with  the  sandy  soil,  and,  together  with  the 
semi-aquatic  vegetation  of  the  swamps,  and  muck  at 
the  head  of  the  ponds,  has  charged  the  water  with  con¬ 
siderable  vegetable  matter,  and  gives  to  all  of  these 
waters  a  slight  color.  Whenever  they  are  collected  in 
lakes,  and  especially  where  these  lakes  are  large  com¬ 
pared  with  the  water  shed,  this  coloring  matter  has 
been  more  or  less  removed  by  the  bleaching  from  the 
sunlight, — the  only  practical  method  of  removing  color 
from  water.  There  are  slight  differences  in  the  color 


23 


of  the  several  waters,  but  these  differences  are  almost 
undistinguishable  when  comparing  the  samples  in  clear 
glass  vials."^ 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that,  with  the  plan  of  storage 
proposed,  all  of  these  waters  will  be  furnished  of  a 
purity  equal  to  that  of  any  of  the  water  furnished  to 
the  other  cities  of  the  Commonwealth. 

From  what  has  already  been  stated,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  whole  quantity  of  water  which  any  particular 
district  will  furnish  depends  entirely  upon  the  following 
conditions,  viz : 

1.  The  amount  of  rain  fall ; 

2.  The  area  and  character  of  the  water-shed  ; 

3.  The  losses  by  evaporation  from  the  ground,  by 
absorption,  by  vegetation,  and  by  evaporation  after  col¬ 
lection  in  the  storage  reservoirs. 

As  none  of  the  fluid  is  lost,  the  evaporation,  absorp¬ 
tion  and  discharge  of  the  streams  must  be  equal  to  the 
rain  fall. 

The  proportion  of  the  rain  fall  which  may  be  col¬ 
lected  and  rendered  available  for  use  has  been  deter¬ 
mined  by  numerous  experiments  all  over  the  world,  and 
now  embrace  so  many  differing  circumstances  of  climate 
and  water-sheds  :  where  the  areas  were  very  large  and 

*  The  United  States  ships  of  war,  for  half  a  century  before  the  rebellion,  have  been 
supplied  with  water  for  long  voyages  from  the  Dismal  Swamp,  called  “Juniper  Water,” 
which  is  as  highly  colored  as  pale  brandy.  This  water  was  prefered  in  the  navy  to  any 
other  in  the  United  States,  and  has  proved  to  be  perfectly  healthy.  Age  removes  its  color. 
I  have  drank  it,  after  having  been  kept  in  the  tanks  of  the  store-ships  for  twenty-five  years, 
and  found  it  colorless,  pure  and  limpid. 


24 


small ;  where  the  slopes  were  steep  and  slightly  im 
dined ;  where  the  soil  and  substrata  were  porous  and 
compact ;  where  the  experiments  were  continued  daily 
for  several  continuous  years,  and  where  they  have  sub¬ 
sequently  been  tested  by  the  construction  of  large  and 
expensive  works,  the  success  of  which  depended  upon 
the  accuracy  of  these  ratios  ;  so  that  great  reliance  may 
be  placed  upon  the  data  which  these  experiments  fur¬ 
nish,  wherever  it  is  judiciously  applied  to  other  water 
sheds,  and  proper  allowances  are  made  for  the  differing 
circumstances.^ 

I  have  dwelt  upon  this  subject  longer,  because  I  am 
almost  daily  meeting  persons  who  have  not  had  occasion 
to  inquire  into  this  subject,  who  regard  this  method  of 
determining  the  relative  quantity  of  water  derivable 
from  any  particular  district  as  empirical,  and  I  desire 
to  show  to  the  citizens  of  Lynn  that  it  is  really  the  only 
safe  and  reliable  method  of  ascertaining  accurately  the 
quantity  of  water  which  can  be  procured  from  any  par¬ 
ticular  accessible  source. 

I  have  repeatedly  found  that  persons  who  have  re¬ 
sided  all  of  their  lives  at  a  pond,  or  a  stream  of  water, 
are  seldom  able  to  give  even  an  approximate  idea  of 
either  the  maximum,  minimum,  or  average  flow  of  such 
water  courses.  The  opinions  of  several  such  persons, 


*  This  theory  of  the  collection  and  storage  of  the  rain  fall  is  exemplified  in  almost 
every  household,  where  the  roof  is  the  water-shed  and  the  cistern  is  the  storing  reservoir. 
From  a  roof  of  1,800  square  feet  there  could  be  collected  37,000  gallons  of  water  per  annum, 
sufficient  to  supply  the  family  with  one  hundred  gallons  per  day,  and  enough  to  fill  a  cistern 
of  ten  feet  diameter  and  ten  feet  deep  six  times  a  year. 


25 


taken  in  different  years  and  seasons,  show  the  complete 
unreliability  of  their  opinions,  because  they  are  certain 
to  differ  widely  from  each  other  and  even  themselves. 

The  guaging  of  streams,  at  either  reputed  high  or 
low  water,  is  attended  with  the  same  uncertainty,  and 
is  oftentimes  very  deceptive,  unless  corrected  by  this 
system,  derived  from  the  area  of  the  water-shed. 

In  the  present  case,  we  have  the  additional  guaran¬ 
tee  of  the  accuracy  of  this  method  of  determining  the 
quantity  of  water  derivable  from  the  several  sources  by 
the  experiments  which  have  been  made  at  Boston  for 
a  long  series  of  years,  and  at  other  places  along  the 
coast,  confirmatory  of  the  Cochituate  ratios.  In  a  gen¬ 
eral  way  it  may  be  said,  that  the  whole  coast  of  the 
Eastern  States  is  subject  to  the  same  winds  and  the 
same  precipitation  of  moisture.  While  this  is  true  gen¬ 
erally,  there  are  a  few  cases  of  moderate  difference ; 
yet  these  differences  are  comparatively  slight,  and  gen¬ 
erally  capricious,  and  will  rarely  affect  the  general 
results,  derived  from  a  long  period  of  years. 

In  many  places  along  the  coast  the  rain  fall  has  been 
carefully  observed ;  and,  under  similar  circumstances, 
the  average  amount  of  precipitation  for  a '  series  of 
years  has  varied  but  little  with  itself,  or  with  that  at 
other  places  on  the  coast.  We  may  thus  conclude  that 
a  mean  rain  fall  of  forty-two  inches  per  annum  is  within 
the  limit  at  Lynn. 

An  examination  of  the  rain  guages,  which  have  been 

kept  for  twenty  years  and  upwards,  will  show  that  oc- 
^4 


26 


casionally  the  rain  fall  of  a  particular  year  exceeds  the 
mean  one-fourth,  and  of  another  falls  below  it  also  one- 
fourth,  while  there  are  rare  cases  where  the  excess  or 
deficiency  from  the  mean  reaches  one-third. 

The  water-sheds  of  the  streams  about  Lynn  are  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  sea,  and  in 
some  places  two  hundred  feet. 

This  elevation  so  near  the  ocean  probably  condenses 
more  aqueous  vapor  than  the  lower  grounds,  or  even 
the  more  elevated  ridges  further  inland  ;  so  that  more 
rain  fall  may  be  expected  than  the  guages  referred  to 
exhibit.  The  slopes  of  the  water-sheds  are  nearly  all 
quite  steep,  and  the  superficial  water  will  run  off  rap¬ 
idly,  without  as  much  loss  by  evaporation  as  would 
occur  on  flatter  slopes.  The  trees  and  bushes  which 
cover  so  large  a  portion  of  the  shed  obstruct  this  flow, 
but  they  also  lessen  the  losses  by  evaporation.  As 
these  lands  become  cleared  and  cultivated,  the  evapora¬ 
tion  will  become  greater,  but  then  more  of  the  falling 
water  will  enter  the  porous  soil,  or  pass  off  quickly 
through  the  agricultural  drains. 

These  losses  and  gains  will  so  nearly  equalize  each 
other,  that  the  quantity  of  water  collectable  from  these 
districts  in  the  future  may  be  relied  upon  as  equal  to 
the  ratios  herein  assumed. 

The  experiments  before  alluded  to  show  that  an 
average  amount  of  about  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  rain  fall 
passes  off  through  the  streams,  and  could  be  collected 
in  a  storing  reservoir. 


27 


Practically,  it  is  found  that  each  square  mile  of  water¬ 
shed  will,  if  properly  stored,  furnish  for  consumption 
one  million  of  gallons  daily.  The  above  data  show 
that  a  larger  amount  can  be  furnished,  but  in  practice 
it  is  found  that  the  losses  by  evaporation,  leakage  of 
the  dams  and  fixtures,  and  unavoidable  waste,  reduce 
the  available  supply  nearly  to  what  has  been  above 
stated.  Still,  it  should  be  remembered  that  this  quan¬ 
tity  is  regarded  as  a  perfectly  safe  amount,  and  will 
more  frequently  exceed  than  fall  short  of  the  actual 
quantity. 

As  a  practical  illustration  of  this  theory,  I  have  taken, 
the  rain  guages  at  one  place  on  the  coast,  where  the 
circumstances  are  similar  to  those  at  Lynn,  where  the 
record  shows  a  mean  rain  fall  of  41.73  inches  for  fifty 
years,  and  fluctuations  analo^us  to  those  of  other 
places,  and  which  will  probably  be  found  nearly  the 
same  with  those  at  Lynn. 

The  annexed  table,  marked  A,  shows  the  mean  rain 
fall  for  each  month  of  the  year,  —  the  percentage  of 
this  rain  fall  which  can  be  collected  in  a  reservoir, 
which  of  course  differs  in  each  month,  according  to  the 
evaporation  and  absorption,  being  sixty  per  cent,  more 
in  the  summer  than  in  the  months  when  the  ground  is 
frozen,  and  there  is  no  absorption  by  growing  vege¬ 
tation.  This  table  shows,  in  the  third  column,  the 
amount  of  water  which  would  have  run  into  a  reservoir 
from  one  square  mile,  after  deducting  the  above-men¬ 
tioned  losses.  In  the  fifth  column  is  shown  the  depth 


28 


of  the  evaporation  monthly,  from  the  surface  exposed 
by  the  reservoir,  deduced  from  experiments  of  my  own 
and  compared  .with  those  of  other  observers.  These 
results  are  interesting,  as  showing  that  in  the  hottest 
months  in  summer  the  evaporation  from  the  surface 
of  water  is  twice  as  great  as  the  monthly  rain  fall  upon 
the  same  area,  and  prove  that  a  storing  reservoir  of  too 
much  area,  in  proportion  to  its  water-shed,  is  a  cause 
of  loss  instead  of  gain.  The  seventh  column  of  this 
table  shows  the  amount  each  month  available  for  con¬ 
sumption  or  storage.*  The  ninth  and  tenth  columns 
show  the  difference  (surplus  or  deficiency)  between 
the  consumption  and  the  available  supply  each  month, 
while  the  eleventh  column  shows  the  required  capacity 
of  the  reservoir  necessary  to  retain  the  surplus  water 
and  allow  none  of  it  todbe  wasted.  In  other  words,  the 
size  of  the  storage  reservoir,  which  in  this  case  is  found 
to  be  seventy-two  millions  of  gallons. 

Following  this  is  a  table  marked  B,  made  upon  the 
same  principle,  but  based  upon  a  year  of  the  greatest 
rain  fall,  and  falling  most  unequally  during  the  several 
months,  which  results  in  showing  that  the  reservoir  in 
question  should  have  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  million  gallons  to  save  all  of  the  falling  water. 
It  will  rarely  be  necessary  to  provide  storage  for  such 
an  excessive  rain  fall  as  this  last  table  exhibits,  and  if 

*  Experience  lias  shown  that  water  is  consumed  more  freely  in  summer  than  in  winter, 
iOn  some  days  tluin  on  others,  and  on  some  hours  of  the  day  more  water  is  used  than  at 
other  times.  'J'he  average  monthly  consumption  is  found  to  be  about  twelve  per  cent, 
more  in  summer  and  less  in  winter  than  the  mean  for  the  whole  year. 


one  is  furnished  of  capacity  equal  to  a  mean  between 
the  average  and  maximum,  it  would  be  considered  am¬ 
ple  ;  hence,  in  the  case  aforesaid,  a  reservoir  of  ninety- 
three  millions  would  be  sufficient. 

The  natural  water-shed  of  Breed’s  Pond  is  a  little 
more  than  three-fourths  of  a  square  mile,  but  a  catch- 
water  drain  can  be  cheaply  cut,  which  will  turn  in 
drainage  sufficient  to  increase  this  area  to  at  least  a 
square  mile. 

The  table  referred  to  shows  that  this  pond  ought  to 
have  a  storage  capacity  of  ninety-three  millions  of  gal¬ 
lons  for  the  mean,  and  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
millions  for  the  years  of  the  greatest  and  most  irregu¬ 
lar  rain  fall.  The  actual  capacity  of  the  present  pond 
is  found  to  be  one  hundred  and  seventeen  millions,  and 
if  raised  ten  feet,  this  would  be  increased  to  three  hun¬ 
dred  millions  of  gallons,  which  would  be  sufficient  for 
the  storage  of  three  square  miles  of  water-shed. 

It  is  therefore  proper  to  assume,  that  Breed’s  Pond 
is  now  large  enough  to  supply  storage  for  not  only  its 
own  natural  water-shed,  but  also  for  all  of  the  tribu¬ 
taries  that  can  be  thrown  into  it,  and  therefore  there  is 
no  necessity  for  raising  the  water  in  this  pond  merely 
for  storage  purposes. 

This  source  can  therefore  be  counted  upon  as  fur¬ 
nishing  an  average  supply  of  at  least  a  million  of  gal¬ 
lons  daily. 


The  water-shed  of  Flax  Pond  and  of  the  lakes  above 


30 


is  2.48  square  miles,  which  can  be  extended  by  catch- 
water  drains  to  about  three  square  miles,  and  could  be 
relied  upon  for  an  average  daily  supply  of  three  mil¬ 
lions  of  gallons.  The  three  lakes  have  an  area  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  each  of  them  could  be 
raised  if  desired.  The  storage  capacity  required  for 
this  extent  of  water  shed  would  be :  for  the  mean  rain 
fall,  two  hundred  millions  of  gallons  ;  and  for  the  years 
of  great  fluctuations  of  rain  fall,  about  three  hundred 
millions.  This  storage  would  be  obtained  by  about 
eight  feet  depth  on  the  present  surface  of  these  lakes, 
which  can  be  provided  for  either  by  drawing  down 
below  the  present  surface  or  by  raising  the  dams.  The 
first  would  injure  the  upper  water  power,  and  the 
second  would  involve  an  expense  probably  equal  to 
such  injury. 

It  has  been  assumed,  that  the  source  of  the  supply 
for  the  permanent  works  should  be  equal  to  at  least 
four  millions  of  gallons  daily,  to  provide  for  the  future 
growth  of  the  city.  Flax  Pond,  together  with  Breed’s 
Pond,  will  furnish  this  quantity,  and,  as  hereinafter 
shown,  they  can  be  used  in  conjunction. 

The  water-shed  of  Saugus  Piver,  above  Pranker’s  dam, 
probably  exceeds  twenty  square  miles ;  and,  guaged  at 
what  was  said  to  be  a  time  of  unusual  low  water,  showed 
a  flow  of  five  and  a  half  millions  of  gallons  daily. 

The  quantity  of  water  from  this  source  is  therefore 
ample,  without  the  necessity  of  storing  the  surpluses 
of  the  wet  seasons. 


31 


The  abstraction  of  the  water  required  for  the  city 
will  increase  year  by  year,  and  will  injure  the  valuable 
water  power  now  in  use.  There  are  a  number  of  places 
above  these  water  powers,  where  compensating  reser¬ 
voirs  can  be  built,  at  a  moderate  expense,  which  woidd 
restore  to  them  in  the  dry  seasons  as  much  water  as 
would  be  required  for  the  use  of  the  city ;  but  this  is 
a  question  which  need  not  now  be  discussed. 

I  was  requested  to  examine  Humphrey’s  lake,  and 
to  report  upon  it,  because  there  were  some  of  the  citi¬ 
zens  who  believed  that  it  would  furnish  the  quantity 
desired,  and  at  a  proper  elevation,  without  mechanical 
power. 

This  lake  is  one  hundred  and  seven  feet  above  tide, 
has  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  a 
water-shed  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  acres  beyond 
the  area  of  the  lake  itself.  The  water  of  this  lake  is 
remarkably  clear  and  pure,  though  coming  from  a  water¬ 
shed  of  the  same  character  as  that  of  the  other  lakes 
and  streams.  This  is  due  to  the  long  quiescence  and 
exposure  to  the  sunlight  which  the  very  small  supply 
from  the  water-shed  has  over  so  large  an  area  of  the 
lake. 

The  outlet  from  this  lake  was  guaged,  and  found  to 
be  then  delivering  about  a  million  of  gallons  daily,  but 
the  water  in  the  lake  was  being  lowered  by  this  un¬ 
usual  draft. 

Its  mean  daily  flow  for  the  year  will  not  exceed  half 
a  million  of  gallons.  In  some  of  the  dryest  months  the 


evaporation  of  the  water  from  the  surface  of  the  lake 
is  probably  twice  as  great  as  the  inflow  from  the  rains 
of  such  months. 


III.  THE  QUANTITY  .  EEQUIRED  FOR  THE  PRESENT 
AND  FUTURE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CITY. 

The  population  of  the  city  at  certain  periods  has 
been  as  follows  : 


In  1820, 

4,515. 

1830,  _ 

6,138. 

Increase,  36  per  cent. 

1840,  -  ■  . 

9,075. 

Increase,  48  per  cent. 

1850,  _ 

__  13,935. 

Increase,  53  per  cent. 

1855, 

_  __  15,713. 

Increase,  13  per  cent. 

1860, 

19,083. 

Increase,  21  per  cent. 

1865, 

20,745. 

Increase,  9  per  cent. 

1870, 

„28,231.’ 

Increase,  38  per  cent. 

Making  a  mean  of  forty-four  per  cent.  Assuming  a 
decennial  increase  for  the  remainder  of  the  century,  at 
forty  per  cent,  for  the  first  ten  years,  thirty-five  for  the 
next,  and  thirty  for  the  next  ten  years,  the  population 
will  be  as  follows  : 


In  1880,  increase  40  per  cent., _ 40,600. 

In  1890,  increase  35  per  cent., _ « _ 54,810. 

In  1900,  increase  30  per  cent., _ 71,253. 


The  average  daily  consumption  of  water  for  domestic 
purposes  alone  is  probably  about  one  hundred  gallons 
per  house,  or  fifteen  gallons  for  each  person.  The 
whole  quantity  of  water  which  is  required  to  be  sup- 


33 


plied  for  all  purposes,  that  is,  for  domestic  use,  manu¬ 
factories,  sprinkling  streets,  extinguishing  fires,  etc.,  va¬ 
ries  in  the  different  cities,  from  an  amount  equal  to  fifty 
gallons  for  each  inhabitant  up  to  twice  that  quantity.* 
In  the  smaller  cities,  where  more  care  is  used  to 
prevent  waste,  sixty  gallons  is  found  to  be  sufficient. 
Except  a  small  area  east  of  the  City  Hall,  the  dwellings 
in  Lynn  are  spread  over  more  space  than  is  usual  in 
Eastern  cities.  It  is  therefore  assumed,  that  the  pres¬ 
ent  demand  for  water  for  all  purposes  would  be  equal 
to  an  average  supply  of  sixty  gallons  for  two-thirds  of 
the  population,  and  that  this  rate  of  demand  would  in¬ 
crease,  because  the  city  will  probably  be  more  com¬ 
pactly  built  up  year  by  year,  so  that  at  the  beginning 
of  the  next  century  the  demand  would  equal  this  rate  of 
supply  for  the  whole  population.  The  demand  for 
water  then  would  be, — 


In  1870,  population  29,000, _ 1,160,000  gallons. 

In  1880,  population  40,600, _ 1,827,000  gallons. 

In  1890,  population  54,800, _ 2,740,000  gallons. 

In  1900,  population  71,200, _ 3,916,000  gallons. 


If  the  introduction  of  water  should  have  the  effect, 
as  is  most  probable,  of  inaugurating  new  business  and 


*  There  is  but  one  city  which  publishes  separately  the  consumption  of  water  for  fire 
and  other  city  purposes. 

At  Montreal,  in  1869,  there  was  consumed  for  all  purposes  about  seventeen  hundred 
millions  of  imperial  gallons,  of  which  twenty-one  millions  (one  and  a  quarter  per  cent.) 
was  used  for  watering  the  streets ;  and  one  and  a  quarter  millions  (less  than  one-tenth  of 
one  per  cent.)  was  used  for  fire  purposes,  and  about  half  of  the  latter  quantity  for  cleans¬ 
ing  the  sewers. 

In  the  cities  in  the  United  States,  and  especially  where  the  buildings  are  chiefly  of  wood, 
the  water  required  for  fire  purposes  must  somewhat  exceed  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole  con¬ 
sumption. 


5 


34 


more  rapidly  increasing  the  population,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  make  provision  for  an  earlier  and  larger 
supply  than  has  been  estimated  for. 

No  plan  of  supply  should*  be  considered  as  complete 
unless  it  is  arranged  for  an  extension  capable  of  fur¬ 
nishing  the  maximum  quantity  that  can  reasonably  be 
anticipated  without  sacrificing  any  portion  of  the  works 
first  constructed. 

In  the  plans  herewith  submitted,  some  of  the  works 
are  inadequate  for  the  maximum  supply,  but  they  are 
only  those  that  can  be  replaced  with  new  ones,  without 
interrupting  the  supply  to  the  city,  and  also  where  the 
interest  on  the  difference  in  cost  would,  at  the  end  of 
ten  years,  replace  them. 

Care,  has  been  taken  to  provide  against  interrupting 
the  supply,  by  duplicating  all  parts  which  are  at  all 
liable  to  failure,  such  as  the  engines,  pumps,  mains  and 
reservoirs ;  for  in  a  few  years  after  the  new  works  are  put 
in  operation,  the  wells  and  cisterns  which  now  furnish 
the  supply  will  become  dilapidated  and  useless,  and  the 
interruption  of  the  new  supply  would  not  be  tolerated. 


IV.  THE  PLANS  FOR  INTRODUCING  THE  WATER 
FROM  THE  SEVERAL  SOURCES. 

FROM  breed’s  pond. 

First,  for  a  temporary  supply,  and  subsequently,  as 
an  adjunct  to  the  Flax  or  Saugus  plans. 

The  present  dam  is  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 


35 


feet  long  and  forty  feet  wide  on  top,  and  eighteen  feet 
high  in  the  middle,  —  being  three  feet  higher  than  the 
water  in  the  pond  when  full.  As  far  as  I  could  observe 
and  ascertain  by  inquiry^,  this  dam  consists  of  two 
nearly  vertical  walls  of  stone,  the  space  being  filled 
with  gravel.  A  wooden  flume  or  waste  is  built  through 
the  bank  to  carry  off  the  waste  water,  and  a  small 
wooden  flume  or  box  is  placed  near  the  bottom  of  the 
creek,  leading  to  a  wrought-iron  pipe  of  twenty-seven 
inches  in  diameterj  the  upper  end  of  which  is  fifteen 
feet  inside  of  the  lower  wall  of  the  bank.  This  pipe 
extends  for  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  to  the  mill,  and 
furnished  the  wheel  with  water  from  the  pond. 

The  dam  leaked  badly,  even  when  the  water  in  the 
pond  was  four  feet  below  its  top  level,  —  the  leakage 
being  at  the  rate  of  nearly  half  a  million  gallons  daily. 
These  leaks  appeared  for  a  distance  of  forty  feet  along 
the  base  of  the  dam,  and  I  was  informed  that  other 
leaks  showed  themselves,  when  the  pond  was  full,  still 
further  along  the  base  of  the  bank.  The  chief  leakage 
evidently  comes  from  the  wooden  flume  leading  to  the 
iron  pipe,  but  there  are  doubtless  many  other  serious 
leaks  under  the  base  and  at  the  ends  of  the  embank¬ 
ment. 

The  repairs  and  improvement  recommended  at  this 
dam,  are  to  draw  off  the  water  and  remove  some  of  the 
stone  on  the  front,  and  excavate  a  trench  twenty-five 
feet  wide,  in  steps,  down  below  the  bed  of  the  stream 
and  into  impervious  earth  or  rock,  and  fill  up  this  trench 


36 


with  puddled  earth,  carried  up  sloping  on  the  water  side 
to  the  top  of  the  bank,  and  protecting  its  water  face 
with  a  rip-rap  of  loose  stones.  The  ends  of  the  puddle 
wall  to  be  jutted  into  the  sloping  banks  in  the  same 
manner  as  at  the  bottom.  Within  the  pond,  at  the  foot 
of  the  puddle  wall,  a  gate-house  is  to  be  built,  with 
gates  and  stop  plank,  —  its  walls  being  carried  up  as 
high  as  the  top  of  the  bank.  Two  cast-u*on  pipes,  of 
twelve  inches  diameter,  are  to  be  carried  from  the  gate¬ 
house  through  the  bank.  A  waste  weir  is  to  be  cut 
into  the  rock  at  the  end  of  the  dam. 

A  pipe  of  twelve  inches  diameter  is  to  be  laid  from 
the  dam,  to  connect  with  the  ten-inch  pipe  now  being 
laid  along  the  Common. 

For  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  water  from  Breed’s 
Pond  with  that  from  the  Saugus  Fiver,  it  will  only  be 
necessary  to  turn  the  twelve-inch  main  into  the  pump 
well  and  connect  the  other  end  with  the  force  main 
from  the  great  pumps. 

As  the  water  from  Breed’s  Pond  will  be  delivered  at 
the  pump  well,  with  a  pressure  equal  to  a  level  twent}^- 
five  feet  higher  than  that  from  the  Saugus  Eiver,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  avail  of  this  extra  head  by  con¬ 
necting  the  suction  pipes  of  the  great  pumps  with  the 
main  from  Breed’s  Pond. 

By  a  proper  arrangement  the  great  pumps  can  take 
their  supply  either  from  the  Saugus  Eiver  or  Breed’s 
Pond.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  shall  be  decided  to  take 
the  permanent  supply  from  Flax  Pond,  the  water  main 


37 


from  Breed’s  Pond  can  be  branched  off  and  carried  to 
the  pump  well,  located  for  that  plan.  There  is  about 
eight  and  a  half  feet  difference  in  level  between  the 
surfaces  of  Breed’s  and  Flax  Ponds,  all  of  which  would 
be  required  to  overcome  the  friction  of  the  water  in 
this  long  line  of  pipe,  and  therefore  no  advantage 
would  ensue  in  connecting  the  Breed  Pond  main  to  the 
suction  pipes  of  the  pumps  on  the  Flax  Pond  plan.  It 
may  also  be  remarked,  that  half  a  mile  of  the  Breed’s 
Pond  main  will  be  substantially  lost  in  turning  its  waters 
into  the  Flax  Pond  pump  .well. 

While  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject,  I  will  remark 
that,  before  proceeding  with  the  examination  of  the 
permanent  water  supply,  I  was  particularly  requested 
by  the  Committee  to  examine  and  advise  in  regard  to 
the  purchase  of  Breed’s  Pond. 

It  was  stated  that  the  owner  of  Flax  Pond  —  from 
which  a  line  of  pipe  of  twelve  and  ten  inches  diameter 
had  been  laid  into  the  city — claimed  the  exclusive  right 
to  the  water,  and  that  it  could  only  be  used  by  his 
sufferance ;  and  that  he  demanded  three-fourths  of  the 
receipts  if  any  of  this  water  was  allowed  to  be  used  for 
private  purposes.  Under  this  claim,  the  city  had  no 
right  to  use  the  water,  even  for  the  extinguishment  of 
■fires,  without  his  consent,  which  might  be  withdrawn 
at  any  time  by  him  or  his  successor. 

On  the  other  hand.  Breed’s  Pond,  fixtures  and  land, 
were  offered  to  the  city  at  so  moderate  a  price  as  to 
warrant  the  belief  that,  if  its  use  ever  became  unneces- 


38 


sary  under  the  permanent  plan,  the  property  could  be 
sold  with  a  comparatively  small  loss ;  and  meanwhile, 
it  would  furnish  an  ample  supply  for  fire  purposes,  and 
incidentally  to  manufactories,  and  to  a  limited  extent 
private  dwellings  in  some  parts  of  the  city. 

It  was  supposed  that  the  water-shed  of  this  pond  was 
equal  to  a  square  mile,  and  might  be  enlarged,  and 
hence  that  it  could  be  counted  upon  for  an  average 
daily  supply  of  a  million  of  gallons.  The  elevation  of 
the  pond  is  fifty-two  feet  above  tide,  or  twenty-eight 
feet  above  the  Common;  and  the  dam  will  be  strong 
enough,  when  improved  as  proposed,  to  allow  the  water 
to  be  raised  ten  feet  higher.  When  the  pipes  from  this 
pond  are  delivering  at  the  rate  of  a  million  of  gallons 
per  day,  the  friction  of  the  water  will  destroy  one-half 
or  more  of  this  apparent  head,  so  that  this  supply,  even 
when  raised,  will  not  deliver  the  water  at  the  City  Hall 
more  than  ten  or  fifteen  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
street.  Still,  a  source  which  will  furnish  at  the  rate  of 
a  million  of  gallons  daily,  even  at  this  head,  would  be 
of  great  value  for  the  fire  engines  in  times  of  conflagra¬ 
tion,  and  at  all  times  for  manufactories  and  a  consider¬ 
able  number  of  private  houses. 

Before  expressing  an  opinion  on  the  propriety  of  this 
purchase,!  examined  how  far  its  works  and  water  could 
be  used  in  connection  with  either  of  the  permanent 
plans,  and  found  that  the  supply  of  water  from  it  would 
be  indispensable  to  the  Flax  Pond  scheme,  if  the  growth 
of  the  city  should  ever  reach  the  limit  estimated  ;  and 


39 


that  it  might  be  made  a  most  useful  adjunct  to  the  Sau¬ 
gus  Eiver  scheme ;  and  in  the  latter,  all  of  the  pipes 
requhed  to  be  laid  for  the  temporary  Breed’s  Pond  plan 
would  become  useful  in  the  permanent  plan  from  the 
Saugus.  The  diversion  of  water  from  the  Saugus 
would  be  lessened  by  whatever  amount  was  obtained 
from  Breed’s  Pond,  and  thus  the  damage  to  the  water 
power  of  that  stream  would  be  materially  lessened. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  did  not  hesitate  to 
advise  your  committee  to  make  the  purchase  of  the 
Breed  Pond  and  property,  and  also  to  repair  and  im¬ 
prove  the  dam,  to  render  it  water  tight,  and  to  lay  from 
it  to  the  west  end  of  the  Common  a  twelve-inch  pipe, 
and  connect  it  with  the  ten-inch  pipe  now  being  laid 
in  that  place.  At  your  request,  I  prepared  plans  and 
specifications,  and  urged  the  importance  of  commencing 
certain  parts  of  the  work  with  the  least  possible  delay, 
so  that  the  benefit  of  the  water  might  be  availed  of 
within  three  or  four  months. 

In  connection  with  this  plan,  I  suggested  that  a 
steam  engine  and  pumps  might  be  set  up  at  Breed’s 
Pond,  which  would  pump  the  water  into  the  pipes 
leading  to  and  through  the  city,  and  thus  give  a  head 
of  water  equal  to  one  hundred  feet,  or  more  if  desired, 
at  the  east  end  of  the  Common,  and  a  corresponding 
increase  of  head  in  all  of  the  pipes  laid  in  the  city, 
whenever  the  engine  was  in  operation. 

As  a  part  of  the  permanent  plan,  I  have  proposed  a 
duplicate  non-condensing  engine,  with  a  double-acting 


40 


pump  of  one-half  of  the  power  of  the  principal  engine. 
This  engine  might  now  be  purchased  and  temporarily 
set  up  at  Breed’s  Pond,  and  when  the  permanent  works 
are  completed,  it  could  be  transferred  at  small  expense 
to  the  new  engine-house.* 

If  you  should  decide  upon  the  immediate  purchase 
of  the  land  for  the  reservoir  at  Pine  Hill,  one  of  its 
divisions  could  now  be  built,  and  a  pipe  laid  tempo¬ 
rarily  from  it  to  the  engine  at  Breed’s  Pond  and  con¬ 
nected  with  the  pipe  leading  to  the  city.  By  this 
arrangement  there  would  be  at  all  times,  day  and 
night,  whether  the  engine  was  running  or  not,  a  head 
of  water  on  all  of  the  pipes  in  the  city,  equal  to  that 
due  from  the  reservoir,  of  more  than  one  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  above  tide.  This  arrangement  would  allow 
the  engine  to  be  run  half  the  time,  and  yet  keep  up  the 
head  as  above  stated. 

The  plans  proposed  from  Flax  Pond  are  as  follows : 

To  obtain  the  water  rights  at  Sluice  and  Flax  Ponds, 
so  as  to  completely  control  the  whole  of  the  water  from 
this  source  and  use  these  ponds  as  storing  reservohs, 
subject  to  a  draft  of  water  which  will  reduce  their  level 


*  Since  the  above  was  submitted,  the  Mayor  has  suggested  that  the  steam  engine  lately 
purchased  with  the  Breed’s  Pond  property  could  be  used  for  this  temporary  plan.  I  have 
examined  this  engine,  boiler,  etc.,  and  find  that  it  is  nearly  twenty  horse  power,  which  is 
not  as  large  as  I  estimated  for,  but  which  will  answer  a  good  purpose,  and  enable  you  to 
furnish  a  head  of  water  on  the  pipes  of  probably  sixty-five  feet  additional  at  the  dam,  — 
making  one  hundred  and  seventeen  feet  above  tide  at  that  place, — which  will  probably 
answer  all  purposes  for  tlie  ensuing  year.  To  this  engine  can  be  attached  pumps  properly 
adapted  to  its  power,  and,_witli  some  repairs  to  the  boiler  and  engine,  can  all  be  done  witli 
an  outlay  of  probably  $2000.  There  should  also  be  a  stand  pipe  erected,  which,  with  the 
fixtures,  may  increase  this  outlay  to  $3000. 


41 


from  five  to  fifteen  feet.  The  water  power  at  Sluice 
Pond,  if  desired,  could  be  re-sold  or  leased,  subject  to 
these  conditions  and  such  others  as  would  prevent  any 
defilement  of  the  water. 

The  water  of  Sluice  Pond  is  pure  and  limpid,  and 
that  of  Flax  Pond  is  clear  and  almost  colorless  ;  never¬ 
theless,  the  latter  must  be  very  impure.  For  many 
years  there  has  been  a  tannery  in  operation  at  Sluice 
Pond,  the  waters  of  which  are  used  to  cleanse  the 
hides,  which,  with  the  waste  wool  and  fieshy  matter 
from  the  hides,  is  discharged  into  the  stream,  leading 
directly  to  Flax  Pond. 

An  analysis  of  the  water  in  this  stream  would  show 
it  to  be  highly  offensive  and  very  unhealthy ;  and  al¬ 
though  the  heavier  portions  of  this  offensive  matter 
settles  below  the  surface  when  the  current  is  checked 
by  the  broad  spread  of  the  water  at  the  head  of  Flax 
Pond,  a  large  amount  of  this  foul  matter  must  be  ab¬ 
sorbed  by  the  water,  and  cannot  be  displaced  except  by 
chemical  means.  The  swamps  adjacent  to  the  stream 
are  also  highly  charged  with  this  decaying  animal  mat¬ 
ter,  and  in  the  hot  summer  months  it  adds  to  the  con¬ 
tamination  of  the  waters.  It  is  therefore  indispensable 
that  this  factory  be  stopped,  and  that  the  pure  water 
from  Sluice  Pond  shall  be  conducted  past  this  contami¬ 
nated  swamp  without  contact  with  its  soiled  earth ;  and 
not  only  this,  but  it  is  nearly  as  important  that  this 
swamp  and  the  upper  end  of  Flax  Pond  shall  be  cov¬ 
ered  with  a  layer  of  clean  sand  and  gravel,  to  prevent 
6 


42 


further  putrefaction  and  contamination  of  any  of  the 
waters  which  may  flow  or  stand  over  this  mass  of  mat¬ 
ter,  which  has  been  accumulating  for  years. 

Some  other  repairs  and  additions  will  be  required  to 
be  made  to  the  dams  and  flxtures  at  Sluice  and  Flax 
Ponds,  to  render  them  available  as  storing  ponds,  and 
(as  with  the  ponds  on  the  other  plans)  the  vegetable 
matter  at  the  head  of  the  pond  and  elsewhere  must  be 
removed  or  covered  with  gravel,  to  prevent  injury  to 
the  water. 

.Flax  Pond  is  forty-four  feet  above  tide,  and  provision 
must  be  made  to  draw  off  eight  feet  of  its  depth,  leaving 
it  at  such  times  thirty-six  feet  above  tide.  It  is  pro¬ 
posed  to  convey  the  water  from  Flax  Pond  to  the  pump 
well  through  a  pipe  of  twenty-four  inches  diameter  and 
eighteen  hundred  feet  long,  and  then  to  pump  it  into  a 
reservoir  on  High  Pock  Hill,  elevated  one  hundred  and 


*  After  the  preceding  part  of  this  report  was  put  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  I  was 
i'urnished  with  a  copy  of  Prof,  Hayes’  analyses  of  the  waters  from  the  ponds  referred  to, 
which  are  as  follows  : 


TABLE  OF  GRAINS  IN  ONE  GALLON  OF  WATER, 


Breed’s 

Flax, 

Flax, 

Sluice 

Saugus 

Pond. 

Xo.  1. 

No.  2. 

Pond. 

Kiver. 

Chloride  of  sodium . 

0.51 

0.57 

0.34 

0.40 

Sulphates  of  soda,  potash  and  lime  . 

. .  0.:H 

0^^7  . 

1.38 

0.38 

0.20 

Bi-carbonate  of  lime  and  magriesia.. 

..  1.01 

1.16 

2.11 

0.60 

1.51 

Oxide  of  lime  and  alumina, . . 

. .  0.08 

0.07 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

Silica . 

..  0.10 

0.13 

0.26 

0.12 

0.02 

Organic  matter . 

..  1.82 

1.84 

2.72 

1.12 

2.40 

Total  grains . 

4.08 

7.04 

2.56 

5.52 

Tliese  analyses  confirm  many  of  the  statements  made  in  regard  to  these  waters,  although 
they  show  a  larger  amount  of  the  earthy  salts  than  I  expected.  They  confirm  my  estimates 
of  the  relative  amounts  of  vegetable  matter  in  these  waters.  The  analysis  of  the  water  in 
the  brook  at  the  head  of  Flax  Pond  shows  the  presence  in  that  sample  of  less  animal  mat¬ 
ter  than  1  expected,  but  a  portion  of  it  may  have  passed  olf  in  gases  before  the  analysis 
was  made. 

Jlr.  Hayes  confirms  the_comparative  i)urity  of  the  waters,  of  their  softness,  and  of  the 
unobjectionable  character  of  the  coloring  matter,  which,  with  the  vegetable  matter,  will 
^  much  lessened  alter  being  stored  for  some  time  in  the  large  reservou'  proposed. 


.43 


sixty-six  feet  above  tide,  through  a  pump  main  of  six¬ 
teen  inches  diameter  and  twelve  hundred  feet  long. 
The  reservoir  will  occupy  five  acres,  and,  with  twelve 
feet  depth  of  water,  will  contain  ten  or  twelve  millions 
of  gallons. 

The  water  would  be  distributed  to  the  city  from 
this  reservoir  by  pipes,  as  indicated  in  the  annexed 
schedule. 

The  high  price  of  land  proposed  to  be  occupied  by 
this  reservoir,  and  the  extra  expense  of  constructing  it 
perfectly  water  tight,  on  a  rock  foundation,  leads  me  to 
the  opinion  that  it  would  be  better  to  conduct  the  water 
from  Flax  Pond  to  a  pump  well,  opposite  the  Pine  Hill 
reservoir,  and  then  the  remainder  of  this  plan  will  be 
similar  in  its  details  to  those  required  for  the  Saugus 
Fiver  plan,  the  description  of  which  will  be  found 
under  that  head. 

The  pipe  already  laid  from  Flax  Pond  into  the  city 
can  be  usefully  used  upon  either  location  of  the  pump 
well.  The  plans  of  the  gate-house  at  the  dam,  of  the 
conducting  pipes,  of  the  pump  well,  engine  and  boiler 
houses,  engine  and  pumps,  duplicate,  pumping  main, 
and  of  the  reservoir,  will  be  nearly  alike  in  the  two 
places,  and  will  be  more  particularly  described  in  the 
Saugus  Fiver  plan. 

The  plans  proposed  from  the  Saugus  Fiver  are  as 
follows : 

To  clean  out  Pranker’s  Pond,  and  erect  in  it,  near 
the  dam,  a  gate-house,  with  a  pipe  exit  at  ten  feet 


44 


below  the  surface  of  the  water,  of  two  pipes  of  two 
feet  diameter  to  the  main  shore,  and  from  thence  one 
pipe  of  two  feet  in  diameter  for  thirteen  thousand  five 
hundred  feet  to  the  pump  well  near  the  foot  of  Pine 
Hill.  This  pipe  will  be  carried  under  the  Saugus 
Piver  and  Breed’s  Creek,  and  will  be  arranged  with 
blow-offs  and  stop-gates  at  proper  places.  The  pipe 
will  enter  the  pump  well  hy  a  syphon,  extending  to 
near  the  bottom  of  the  well,  and  will  have  a  stop-gate 
to  regulate  the  flow  of  the  water.  At  the  gate-house, 
in  crossing  the  river,  and  in  entering  the  pump  well, 
cast-iron  pipes  will  be  used ;  elsewhere,  wrought-iron 
pipes,  laid  in  and  lined  with  cement,  will  be  used. 

But  one  pipe  will  be  laid  at  first,  which  will  deliver 
two  millions  of  gallons  per  day,  with  a  loss  of  three 
feet  head.  When  the  demand  for  water  in  the  city 
becomes  large,  a  receiving  reservoir  of  one  or  two  acres 
area  will  be  built,  which  will  allow  the  night  flow  of 
this  pipe  to  be  added  to  the  the  water  furnished  to  the 
great  pumps,  without  much  increased  loss  of  head  ;  and 
when  the  demand  becomes  still  greater,  a  second  pipe 
may  be  laid. 

This  receiving  reservoir  and  additional  pipe  will  not 
probably  be  required  for  ten  or  fifteen  years,  and  the 
cost,  therefore,  is  not  included  in  the  estimates. 

The  pump  well  will  be  built  thirty  by  thirty-eight 
feet  on  the  outside,  arranged  for  two  condensing  en¬ 
gines  and  pumps,  of  large  sizfe.  The  well-chamber  will 
be  fifteen  by  twenty  feet,  in  two  divisions,  with  an 


45 


entrance  of  twenty  by  five  feet,  in  which  will  be  placed 
a  frame  and  gates  and  two  screens.  The  bottom  of  this 
well  will  be  placed  at  a  level  fifteen  feet  below  the 
water  in  Pranker’s  Pond,  or  say  fourteen  feet  above 
tide. 

The  masonry  will  be  laid  on  a  solid  timber  and  plank 
foundation.  The  walls  will  be  of  cut  stone  under  the 
engine  bed  plates,  and  cut  face  stone  elsewhere,  with 
good  strong,  solid  backing.  Bolt  and  hand  holes  will 
be  arranged  in  the  masonry. 

The  pumping  machine  will  be  a  condensing,  vertical, 
beam  engine,  with  two  single  acting  pumps,  arranged 
to  deliver  two  millions  of  gallons  of  water  in  twelve 
hours  into  the  Pine  Hill  reservoir,  one  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  feet  above  tide,  through  a  pipe  of  sixteen 
inches  diameter  and  fifteen  hundred  feet  long.  This 
will  require  about  one  hundred  horse  power,  with  a 
steam  cylinder  of  thirty-eight  inches  diameter  and  eight 
feet  length  of  stroke,  and  pumps  of  twenty-four  inches 
diameter  and  five  feet  length  of  stroke.* 


*  The  plan  of  the  pumping  engine  upon  which  I  have  based  my  estimates  is  similar  to 
the  one  which  has  recently  been  put  in  operation  for  the  water  works  at  New  Bedford. 
There  have  been  four  of  these  engines  erected  for  this  purpose  in  the  United  States,  and 
there  are  many  others  here  and  abroad,  which  embrace  the  leading  principles  of  this 
machine,  so  that  it  is  not  an  invention,  but  merely  the  application  of  all  of  these  principles 
in  one  machine.  These  principles  are  as  follows  :  — 

1.  That  steam  and  water  cannot  be  moved  at  the  same  velocity  without  an  increased 
loss  of  power.  The  former  is  very  light  and  elastic,  and  the  latter  seventeen  hundred 
times  heavier  than  steam,  and  inelastic.  Hence,  all  direct  acting  pumps  are  wrong  in 
principle. 

2.  That  water  cannot  be  abruptly  changed  in  its  direction  or  form  of  volume  without 
great  waste  of  power,  and  hence  double-acting  pumps,  which  must  have  two  absolute 
reversals  of  the  water,  are  much  inferior  to  single-acting  pumps,  where  these  reversals  are 
avoided. 

That  the  induction]  and  delivery  pipes  of  the  pumps  should  be  in  straight  lines,  or» 


46 


The  engine-house  will  be  built  around  the  w'ell,  and 
the  boiler-house  adjacent  thereto.  The  pump-  main 
will  be  of  cast-iron,  and  laid  through  the  gate-house 
of  the  reservoir  to  the  further  side  thereof,  and  have  a 
check-valve  near  the  pump. 

The  reservoir  on  Pine  Hill  will  require  ten  acres  of 
land,  and  will  contain  nineteen  millions  of  gallons 
of  water  at  the  depth  of  twelve  feet,  but  can  easily  be 


when  necessary,  in  curved  lines  of  large  radius,  and  with  no  changes,  or  at  least  with  very 
gradual  ones,  in  the  passage  of  the  water  to,  through  and  from  the  pumps. 

That  valves  which  produce  the  least  distortion  of  the  form  of  the  volume  of  the  water, 
and  without  unnecessary  changes  in  its  direction,  should  be  used. 

3.  That  in  reciprocating  engines  and  pumps,  the  power  developed  by  the  steam  should 
be  wholly  exhausted  (if  possible)  at  the  end  of  each  stroke,  and  that  (unlike  almost  all  the 
other  applications  of  steam  power)  the  perfection  of  motion  of  the  stroke  of  a  water  pump 
piston  is  a  slow  commencement,  increasing  speed  to  the  middle  of  the  stroke,  and  a 
gradual  reduction,  until,  at  the  end  of  the  stroke,  the  power  (including  the  momentum)  is 
barely  able  to  carry  the  engine  over  its  centres. 

In  a  Cornish  pumping-machine  the  steam  engine  and  its  pumps  work  independently, 
and  are  in  fact  two  distinct  machines.  The  load  on  the  pump  is  carefully  adjusted  to  over¬ 
come  the  resistances  of  the  water,  and  exhibits  the  natural  and  nearly  perfect  movement 
which  ought  to  be  given  to  water  passing  through  a  pump. 

The  ordinary  application  of  steam,  working  expansively  in  the  cylinder,  produces 
precisely  the  degree  of  speed  in  every  part  of  the  stroke  of  the  water-piston  that  is 
desired. 

This  pumping-machine  accomplishes  all  of  these  objects  better  than  any  other  in  use. 
It  is  a  vertical  beam  engine;  the  steam  cylinder  is  placed  under  the  end  of  the  beam,  and 
the  water  cylinders  at  "such  distances  toward  the  main  centre  as  will  give  the  exact  relative 
speed  to  the  steam  and  water  pistons.  Two  single  acting  pumps  are  placed  one  on  each 
side  of  the  beam  centre,  with  the  delivery  pipes  carried  off  from  the  pumps  on  gentle 
curves  to  the  force  main.  The  valves  are  similar  to  those  ordinarily  used  in  the  air  pump. 
The  fly-wheel  is  made  as  light  as  possible,  being  only  used  to  carry  the  engine  very  slowly 
over  its  centres,  and  the  cut-off  is  so  adjusted  that  almost  the  whole  power  developed  by 
the  steam  is  exhausted  at  the  completion  of  each  stroke. 

There  is  therefore  no  concussion  or  wrenching  of  the  various  parts  of  the  machine  at 
the  end  of  the  stroke,  where  the  direction  of  its  reciprocating  parts  are  reversed,  and  the 
machinery,  except  the  rubbing  surfaces,  must  therefore  endure  almost  indefinitely. 

The  water,  starting  from  the  pump  well,  passes  to,  through  and  from  the  pumps  to  the 
force  main  without  change  of  direction,  in  straight  lines  or  gentle  curves,  with  small 
changes  of  form  of  volume  or  direction,  and  therefore  its  resistance  from  these  causes  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum. 

It  is  safe,  therefore,  to  claim  for  this  machine  as  effective  a  duty  as  can  be  obtained  by 
any  other  pumping-machine.  This  machine  is  simple  in  construction,  and  the  steam- 
engine  part  corresponds  with  that  in  use  in  most  of  the  large  engines  built  for  other  pur¬ 
poses.  Its  cost  is  therefore  reduced  to  a  minimum.  It  can  be  built  or  repaired  at  any 
good  machine-shop,  and  can  be  run  with  perfect  safety  by  a  moderately  good  mechanic; 
in  fact,  by  any  one  who  can  run  an  ordinary  river  steamboat  engine.  There  are  no  patents 
upon  any  portion  of  the  machine. 


47 


made  three  feet  deeper  if  desired,  which  would  increase 
its  capacity  to  twenty-two  millions.  The  solid  rock  wil]^ 
form  the  east  side,  and  an  irregular,  curving  embank¬ 
ment  the  other  sides.  The  reservoir  may  be  in  two 
divisions,  of  which  one,  containing  twelve  millions,  can 
he  made  at  first,  and  the  other  division  can  be  hereafter 
built,  when  more  storage  is  found  necessary. 

The  soil  on  the  surface  is  sandy  loam,  filled  with 
stone  and  large  and  small  boulders,  underlaid,  though 
probably  at  considerable  depth,  with  porphyritic  rock. 
The  clay  and  gravel  for  the  puddle  walls  must  be  pro¬ 
cured  from  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The  other 
materials  for  the  embankment  can  be  obtained  from  the 
excavation. 

The  inside  slopes  of  the  embankment  will  be  two  to 
one,  and  on  the  outside,  which  will  be  of  boulders,  will 
be  one  and  a  half  to  one.  The  top  of  the  embankment 
will  be  carried  up  three  feet  higher  than  the  water,  and 
will  be  fifteen  feet  wide.  The  inside  slopes  will  be 
lined  with  a  slope  wall,  pointed  up  with  hydraulic  mor¬ 
tar.  The  puddle  wall  will  be  placed  on  the  inside 
slope  of  the  embankment,  and  will  be  eight  feet  thick 
at  the  bottom  and  four  feet  at  the  top  (at  right  angles 
to  the  slope),  and  extended  down  to  solid  impervious 
earth  or  rock,  and  at  least  two  feet  belo.w  the  bottom 
level  of  the  reservoir.  If  such  impervious  earth  or 
rock  is  not  found,  then  the  whole  bottom  of  the  reser¬ 
voir  will  be  covered  with  puddle,  and  connected  with 
the  side  puddle  and  carefully  with  the  ledge  rock  on 


48 


the  east  side.  The  puddle  will  be  made  of  equal  parts 
of  pure  clay  and  fine  gravel,  laid  on  in  layers  of  six 
inches  depth,  moistened,  and  cut  and  cross  cut  with 
spades,  until  it  is  compacted  as  closely  as  possible. 
The  top  and  outside  slopes  of  the  banks  will  be  turfed. 

A  gate  house  of  masonry,  laid  in  hydraulic  cement, 
will  be  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  slope  of  the  embank¬ 
ment,  near  the  southern  end  of  the  reservoir.  It  will 
be  thirty  by  eighteen  feet  on  the  foundation,  and  carried 
up  to  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  banks.  There  will 
be  two  compartments  each  of  eight  by  six  feet,  in  one 
of  which  will  be  placed  the  two  sixteen-inch  inlet  pipes 
and  a  drain  pipe,  and  in  the  other  the  two  sixteen-inch 
outlet  pipes. 

These  pipes  will  all  be  carefully  laid  through  the 
embankment,  with  cross  cut-off  walls,  to  prevent  leak¬ 
age,  and  will  all  be  provided  with  stop  gates  placed  in 
the  gate  chambers.  The  outlet  compartment  will  be 
provided  with  two  gates  and  passages  through  the  front 
wall.  On  the  top  of  the  well  walls  will  he  built  a 
brick  house,  and  a  bridge  will  be  laid  to  the  bank. 


THE  DISTRIBUTION. 

The  general  plan  of  the  distribution  of  the  water,  has 
been  based  upon  the  delivery  at  first  of  two  millions  of 
gallons  daily,  and  subsequently  of  twice  this  quantity,  of 
which  it  is  assumed  that  at  first  nearly  one-half  will  be 
consumed  within  an  area  of  one  hundred  acres  of  the 


49 


central,  compact  part  of  the  city,  east  of  the  City  Hall  ; 
one-fourth  within  three  hundred  acres,  surrounding  the 
first  district ;  one-eighth  within  the  district  eastward, 
between  the  railroad  and  the  ocean ;  and  the  remain¬ 
ing  one-eighth  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  central  dis¬ 
trict.  These  proportions  may  be  varied  by  the  future 
growth  of  the  city  in  these  several  directions. 

The  main  pipes  have  been  arranged  upon  this  basis, 
so  as  to  furnish  the  water  under  a  head,  as  nearly 
equable  as  it  is  possible  to  do  with  the  supply  entering 
on  one  side  of  the  city,  and  extending  more  than  two 
miles  through  it.  With  the  probability  that  Swamp- 

scott  will  also  desire  to  avail  herself  of  the  water  which 

0 

your  works  will  furnish,  the  main  pipes  have  been  ex¬ 
tended  eastward  of  larger  size  than  that  district  of  Lynn 
demands.  This  large  pipe  will  enable  you  to  furnish 
that  place  with  a  million  of  gallons  daily,  (when  your 
works  are  completed  upon  the  plans  herein  presented,) 
under  a  head  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  above  tide, 
at  the  mere  cost,  to  you,  of  pumping  this  quantity,  and 
the  cost  or  interest  of  a  ten-inch  pipe,  of  a  mile  and  a 
half  long. 

This  system  of  distribution  contemplates  carrying 
pipes  equivalent  to  twenty  inches  diameter,  from  the 
Pine  Hill  Eeservoir  to  the  west  end  of  the  Common, 
and  thence  by  equivalent  to  eighteen,  inches  to  the 

corner  of  Munroe  and  Market  Streets,  (which  is  very 
nearly  the  centre  of  consumption,)  and  from  thence  to 


7 


50 


the  intersection  of  Lewis  and  Ocean  Streets  by  pipes 
equivalent  to  twelve  inches  diameter. 

The  pipes  already  laid  will  furnish  ten-inch  mains 
northward  and  eastward,  through  populous  districts, 
and  it  is  proposed  to  extend  others  of  eight  and  six 
inches,  in  various  directions,  intermediate  and  beyond 
those  already  described. 

The  accompanying  map  shows  this  arrangement  of 
the  leading  mains,  on  which  will  be  seen  two  parallel 
lines  of  pipe  from  the  reservoir  to  the  Common,  viz  : 
one  of  twelve  and  another  of  sixteen  inches.  The  rea¬ 
son  for  this  is,  that  I  have  (for  this  purpose)  considered 
the  Breed  Pond  plan  as  adopted,  and  it  includes  a 
twelve-inch  pipe  from  the  pond  to  the  Common,  and  as 
this  pipe  will  temporarily  furnish  the  supply  to  the 
city  under  the  permanent  plan,  the  expense  of  laying 
down  an  additional  pipe  can  be  saved  for  several  years. 
Subsequently,  when  the  demand  for  water  requires  it, 
a  sixteen-inch  pipe  added  to  the  twelve  will  be  equiva¬ 
lent  to  a  twenty-inch  pipe  from  the  reservoh  to  the 
Common.  The  sixteen-inch  pipe  will  then  be  con¬ 
tinued  down  Federal,  and  through  Summer  to  Market 
Street,  and  with  the  ten-inch  pipe  now  laid  through  the 
Common  and  Market  to  the  same  point,  will  be  equiva¬ 
lent  to  an  eighteen-inch  pipe  to  that  place.  A  twelve- 
inch  pipe  will  be  laid  to  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Spring 
Streets,  and  then  branching  by  a  ten-inch  pipe  through 
Broad,  and  an  .eight-inch  pipe  to  and  through  Ocean, 
until  they  unite  at  or  near  King  Street,  are  equivalent 


51 


to  a  twelve-inch  pipe  to  this  point  of  intersection.  If 
desired,  the  Lewis  Street  pipe  can  be  extended  to 
Swampscott,  of  ten  inches  diameter,  and  deliver  the 
water  to  that  town,  as  before  stated. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  the  intermediate  pipes, 
except  to  state,  that  with  your  comparatively  high  head 
you  can  use  pipes  of  smaller  diameter  than  would  be 
admissible  in  other  cities  in  this  vicinity."^ 

In  arranging  the  plans  for  distribution,  Mr.  Bishop 
has  passed  through  all  of  the  streets  of  the  city,  noting 
the  houses,  and  marking  on  the  map  where  pipes 
should  be  laid  in  consecutive  order,  to  meet  the  present 
and  probable  future  demands.  In  some  of  the  streets 
the  numbers  of  water-takers  are  now  too  small  to  war¬ 
rant  laying  down  pipes,  but  as  the  city  becomes  more 
densely  built  up,  and  new  demands  are  made  for  water, 
pipes  will  be  required  through  these  omitted  streets. 
Branches  will  therefore  be  put  in  at  all  crossing  streets, 
and  capped,  so  that  these  additional  pipes  can  be  put 
in  at  any  time  hereafter. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  head,  or  equivalent 
elevation  that  the  water  will  stand  in  the  pipes  at  va¬ 
rious  places  in  the  city,  under  the  Breed’s  Pond  plan 
when  delivering  a  million  of  gallons  daily,  and  on  the 
permanent  plan  from  the  Pine  Hill  Keservoir,  when  de- 

*  To  enable  the  citizens  to  form  their  opinions  on  these  subjects,  without  much  trouble 
in  calculating,  it  may  be  said  that  under  the  same  circumstances  the  delivery  of  a  pipe  in 
creases  as  the  square  root  of  the  head  and  as  the  square  of  the  diameter  of  the  pipe ;  that 
is,  a  pipe  of  four  inches  diameter  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  feet  head  will  deliver  the 
same  quantity  of  water  as  one  of  eight  inches  diameter  and  ten  and  a  half  feet  head,  both 
pipes  being  of  the  same  length. 


52 


livering  a  million  through  the  twelve-inch  main,  and 
two  millions  through  the  twenty-inch  "main  and  its  con¬ 
nections,  as  herein  before  described.  It  will  be  seen 
by  this  table  that  the  unusual  elevation  of  the  water  in 
the  reservoir  will  allow  it  to  flow  to  the  upper  stories 
of  dwellings  which  are  or  may  be  built  upon  the  high¬ 
est  land  about  the  city. 


Table  of  the  head  of  water  in  the  pipes  above  tide  and  above  the 
surface  of  the  streets  at  various  places  in  the  city,  under  the 
several  plans. 


From  From 

Breed’s  Pond.  Pine  Hill  Kescrvoir. 

f _ A - ^  ^ _ A - ^ 

Through  the  Through 

twelve-inch  main.  20-inch  main. 

Place.  When  delivering  When  delivering 

one  million  gallons,  two  million  gallons. 


Above  the  level  of 

Tide. 

St. 

Tide. 

St. 

Tide. 

St. 

Tide. 

St. 

Reservoir . 

52 

177 

177 

177 

Pump  Well, . • . 

49 

19 

175 

145 

175 

145 

176 

146 

Federal  and  Common, . 

43 

24 

169 

150 

152 

133 

174 

155 

Common  and  Market, . 

28 

4 

154 

130 

94 

70 

172 

148 

Mai-ket  and  Mnnroe, . 

23 

1 

149 

127 

74 

52 

171 

149 

Broad  and  Spring, . 

22 

148 

118 

71 

41 

168 

138 

Lewis  and  Ocean . 

21 

147 

100 

66 

19 

163 

116 

When  the  steam  engine  is  running,  the  pipes  leading 
to  the  city  and  to  the  reservoir  will  both  be  in  direct 
communication  with  the  pumps,  so  that  the  head  of 
water  on  the  distribution  pipes  will  be  higher  than  is 
given  in  the  above  table,  which  has  been  calculated 
from  the  head  which  the  reservoir  will  give.  The 
pump  main  is  only  flfteen  hundred  feet  long,  so  that  it 
will  perform  the  service  of  a  stand  pipe,  and  act  as  a 
governor  or  safety  valve,  and  prevent  any  shocks  or 


53 


undue  pressure  on  the  city  pipes ;  because,  if  by  a  not 
unusual  accident,  a  water-gate  after  long  usoj  should 
happen  to  fall,  or  after  the  extinguishment  of  a  fire,  a 
considerable  number  of  hydrants  should  be  simulta¬ 
neously  closed,  or  if  at  any  particular  hour  the  con¬ 
sumption  of  water  should  be  suddenly  stopped,  then 
the  surplus  water  from  the  pumps  would  be  delivered 
into  the  Eeservoir,  and  not  only  prevent  the  water  jam, 
but  also  save  the  waste,  which  on  such  occasions  occurs 
with  a  stand-pipe. 

It  will  be  observed  that  a  pump  main  of  only  sixteen 
inches  diameter  is  proposed  to  be  first  laid  down.  This 
is  less  than  one-third  of  the  capacity  of  the  pump  mains 
which  have  been  laid  down  under  similar  circumstances 
elsewhere,  and  therefore  it  may  be  proper  that  I  should 
explain  my  reasons  for  determining  upon  this  size. 

I  have  computed  the  amount  of  friction  caused  by 
forcing  two  millions  of  gallons  of  water  in  twelve 
hours,  (or  of  four  millions  daily,)  through  pipes  of  va¬ 
rious  sizes,  and  also  the  extra  cost  of  pumping  this 
quantity  through  such  pipes,  and  find  that  a  pipe  of 
sixteen  inches  will  be  the  most  economical,  until  the 
demand  exceeds  three  millions  per  day.  Thus  in  com¬ 
paring  a  sixteen  with  a  twenty-four  inch  pumping  main, 
it  appears  that  the  friction  is  equal  to  seventeen-horse 
power  in  the  first  case,  and  but  two  in  the  second,  and 
the  extra  cost  of  coal,  etc.,  in  the  first  case  over  the  lat¬ 
ter  is  about  $400  per  annum,  and  the  extra  cost  of  the 
twenty-four  inch  pumping  main  over  one  of  sixteen 


54 


inches  is  $7,500,  the  annual  interest  on  which  is  $525 
showing  that  if  the  demand  for  water  should  even  reach 
four  millions  within  the  next  dozen  years,  it  would  be 
cheaper  to  put  in  at  first  the  smaller  pump  main ;  and 
whenever  it  is  found  too  small,  that  is,  when  the  cost  of 
pumping  exceeds  the  interest  on  the  cost  of  a  second 
main,  then  the  latter  may  be  added. 

As  it  is  highly  improbable  that  the  demand  will  ex¬ 
ceed  four  millions  of  gallons  within  the  next  twenty 
years,  the  smaller  pipe  becomes  less  than  half  the  cost 
of  the  larger  one.  By  the  same  method  it  has  been 
determined  that  the  sixteen-inch  pump  main  is  cheaper 
than  one  of  any  larger  or  smaller  size. 

The  force  mains  from  the  pump  well  to  the  reser¬ 
voir  will  be  subject  to  shocks  from  the  unequal  action 
of  the  pumps  and  should  be  of  cast  iron ;  all  of  the 
other  pipes  should  be  of  wrought  iron,  laid  in  and 
lined  with  hydraulic  mortar. 

Objections  have  been  made  to  the  use  of  cast  iron 
pipes  for  street  mains,  on  account  of  the  oxidation  of 
the  u’on, — to  cement-lined  pipes  on  account  of  their 
supposed  weakness  and  want  of  durability, — and  also  to 
lead  pipes  used  for  the  house  distribution. 

It  is  proposed  herein  to  use  wrought  iron  pipes, 
lined  and  coated  with  hydraulic  cement,  for  all  of  the 
pipes  through  the  city.  The  use  of  this  kind  of  pipe 
in  most  of  the  cities  in  this  vicinity  and  elsewhere,  has 
demonstrated  their  value. 

In  Charlestown,  after  six  years’  trial,  they  have  just 


55 


adopted  a  thirty-inch  supply-main  of  this  kind  of  pipe, 
which  is  intended  to  furnish  the  whole  supply  to 
Charlestown,  East  Boston,  Chelsea  and  Somerville.  In 
other  places  where  these  pipes  have  been  used  for  a 
longer  time,  and  under  greater  head,  they  have  proved 
satisfactory ;  and,  as  their  cost  is  considerably  less  than 
pipes  of  cast  iron,  it  becomes  an  important  question  to 
determine  their  strength  and  durability  as  compared 
with  cast-iron  pipes. 

After  a  careful  examination  of  the  subject,  I  have 
heretofore  recommended  the  use  of  these  cement-lined 
and  covered  pipes  under  certain  circumstances,  and  I 
again  repeat  this  recommendation  for  your  works. 

It  is  important  that  the  water  in  the  distribution 
pipes  should  circulate  freely,  and  that  there  should  be 
no  dead  ends.  A  proper  arrangement  of  ^the  pipes 
and  some  blow-off  cocks  occasionally,  introduced  in  the 
lowest  places,  to  discharge  the  stagnant  or  soiled  water, 
will  accomplish  these  purposes. 

It  has  been  frequently  asserted  in  the  newspapers 
that  lead  pipes  in  the  dwellings  is  productive  of  injury 
to  the  water,  by  its  absorption  of  the  metal.  I  consider 
this  as  a  mere  popular  prejudice,  urged  upon  the  pub¬ 
lic  to  promote  the  use  of  some  of  the  various  patented 
processes  of  service  pipes.  The  chemists  of  some  of 
our  cities  have  demonstrated  that  certain  soft  waters 
will  decompose  lead  from  service  pipes.  All  of  these 
experiments  have  been  made  on  water  which  has  been 
allowed  to  stand  quiescent  for  many  days  in  the  lead 


56 


pipes,  and  by  analysis,  will  of  course  show  the  presence 
of  lead.  Practically,  however,  no  person  would  use 
such  water,  because  if  a  cock  is  opened  for  ten  minutes 
it  will  empty  all  of  the  water  from  the  lead  pipes,  and 
then  the  supply  will  be  directly  from  the  street  mains, 
which  will  be  perfectly  pure  and  harmless,  and  none  of 
the  apprehended  dangers  of  the  chemists  will  occur. 

Note.— Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  seen  the  last  report  of  the  Engineer  of  the  Mon¬ 
treal  Water  Works,  which  gives,  what  is  not  contained  in  any  other  report,  the  amount  of 
water  counsumed  at  Montreal  for  fire  purposes,  which  is  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  whole 
water  furnished.  The  report  also  states  that  a  little  more  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
quantity  was  used  for  watering  the  streets.  The  exact  quantities  are  seventeen  hundred 
and  seventeen  millions  of  imperial  gallons,  (one-fourth  larger  than  American  gallons)  were 
pumped,  of  which  twenty  millions  were  used  for  street  watering ;  one  and  a  quarter  was 
used  for  fire  purposes,  and  two-thirds  of  a  million  was  used  for  sewers,  etc.  It  is  thus 
seen  that  the  chief  point  to  be  considered  is  the  domestic  consumption,  which  is  more  than 
ninety-eight  per  cent,  of  the  whole  demand. 

In  the  appendix  will  be  found  the  estimates  in  detail  of  the  cost  of  the  distribution,  in 
which  the  pipes  are  arranged  in  three  classes,  which  in  the  aggregate  will  make  twenty 
miles  of  pipes  and  will  cost  $219,671.  The  first  class  embracing  nearly  five  miles  will  cost 
$65,258  less  the  value  of  the  pipes  now  laid,  which  can  be  usefully  applied,  which  is  nearly 
two  miles  and  valued  at  $24,255. 

The  first  class  also  includes  nearly  a  mile  of  the  twelve-inch  pipe  from  Breed’s  pond  now 
contracted  for,  which  will  be  required  on  the  permanent  plan,  valued  at  $10,565,  leaving  the 
actual  outlay  required  for  pipes,  etc.,  at  the  opening  of  the  new  works  $30,4:38. 

The  second  class  embraces  a  little  more  than  ten  miles  of  pipes,  estimated  at  $103,1.39, — 
which  may  be  laid  down  from  time  to  time  as  desired ;  and  the  third  class,  embracing  nearly 
five  miles,  and  costing  $51,274,  may  be  laid  down  at  a  still  later  date,  so  that  the  outlay  for 
distribution  may  be  distributed  over  a  period  of  ten  or  twelve  years  if  desned,  as  the  in¬ 
creasing  demands  for  water  may  from  time  to  time  warrant. 


V.  THE  ESTIMATES  OF  THE  COST  OF  THE  PLANS. 

These  estimates  have  been  prepared  from  careful 
surveys,  and  from  detailed  plans  of  all  of  the  structures, 
and  have  been  compared  with  the  actual  cost  of  similar 
works,  so  that  they  can  be  relied  upon  with  considerable 
certainty.  These  detailed  drawings  will  be  furnished 
to  the  committee  whenever  desired,  and  will  be  useful 


57 


to  the  Engineer  whom  you  shall  select  to  execute  your 
works. 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark  in  this  connection,  that 
if  it  shall  be  decided  to  commence  the  works  on  the 
permanent  plan  before  the  next  working  season  opens, 
and  the  several  parts  are  promptly  placed  in  competent 
and  energetic  hands,  the  water  can  be  introduced  into 
the  city  before  the  close  of  next  season. 

An  abstract  of  the  detailed  estimates  which  are  given 
in  the  appendix  is  as  follows : 


breed’s  pond  plan. 

1.  With  a  head  of  52  feet  above  tide, _ $28,456  50 

2.  With  the  use  of  the  old  engine  giving  125  feet  head, _ 31,456  50 

3.  With  the  use  of  the  duplicate  engine,  and 
of  one  division  of  the  reservoir,  giving 

177  feet  head, _ $56,237  50 

Less  chargeable  to  the  permanent  plan, _  52,662  50 

$3,575  00 

Add  cost  of  first, _ 1-  28,456  50 

- $32,031  50 

FLAX  POND  PLAN. 

1.  With  the  reservoir  at  High  Rock  Hill, - $286,305  80 

2.  With  the  reservoir  at  Pine  Hill, - $272,345-  70 

SAUGUS  RIVER  PLAN. 

With  the  reservoir  at  Pine  Hill, _ _ — $284,445  70 

These  estimates  include  the  value  of  the  land,  dam¬ 


ages,  and  right  of  way,  but  do  not  include  the  purchase 
of  the  water  power  on  either  the  Flax  Pond  or  Saugus 
Eiver. 


8 


58 


As  before  stated  the  cost  of  the  pipes,  gates  and  hy¬ 
drants,  ten  or  twelve  years  hence,  will  be  $184,851,  and 
on  the  opening  of  the  works  $30,438.  Adding  to 
above  estimate  $48,000  of  the  outlay  now  being  made 
for  Breed’s  Pond,  and  this  $30,438  for  pipeing,  the 
whole  cost  will  be  as  follows : 


For  the  Flax  Pond  plan,  No.  1, _ $364,305  80 

For  the  Flax  Pond  plan.  No.  2, _ $350,345  70 

For  the  Sangus  River  plan, _ $362,445  70 


Or,  when  complete,  ten  years  hence,  $154,413  m,ore  on  each  of  the 
plans. 

On  the  Flax  Pond  plan  the  lower  water  power  will 
be  entirely  destroyed,  and  the  upper  one  materially  in¬ 
terfered  with.  On  the  Saugus  plan  there  will  be  (final¬ 
ly)  a  diversion  of  one-fourth  of  the  water  from  two  of 
the  powers,  and  in  both  plans  there  is  a  tidal  mill 
which  will  be  affected  by  the  diversion  of  the  water. 

I  am  not  acquainted  with  the  local  circumstances 
which  affect  the  value  of  these  water  powers,  and  will 
only  remark,  that  in  one  case,  it  is  the  destruction  of 
one  power  and  the  injury  to  two  others,  and  in  the 
other  case,  it  is  merely  an  injury  to  three  water  powers, 
so  that  the  damages  will  be  less  on  the  Saugus  Biver 
than  on  the  Flax  Pond  plan. 

The  Flax  Pond  plan  being  insufficient  to  furnish  the 
four,  millions  of  gallons  daily,  the  deficiency  must  be 
supplied  from  Breed’s  Pond,  and  to  critically  compare 
the  two  plans  there  should  be  added  to  this  one  the 
whole  expenditure  necessary  to  connect  this  supply 


59 


also.  But  as  the  Breed’s  Pond  supply  is  proposed  to 
be  utilized  in  the  Saugus  Biver  plan,  and  thus  lessen 
the  amount  of  damage,  by  the  diversion  of  its  waters,  it 
is  considered  as  just  to  the  comparison  to  charge  against 
the  Flax  Pond  plan  (with  the  High  Bock  reservoir) 
the  extra  cost  of  conveying  the  water  of  Breed’s  Pond 
to  its  pump  well. 

Another  question  will  affect  the  comparative  value 
of  these  two  plans,  which  is  the  height  to  which  the 
water  must  be  lifted  on  each,  and  the  annual  expense 
thereof. 

On  the  Flax  Pond  plan,  with  the  reservoir  located  on 
High  Bock,  it  will  be  necessary  to  use  the  two  lakes  as 
storing  reservoirs,  and  after  Sluice  Pond  has  been 
drawn  off,  the  deficiency  in  the  driest  seasons  of  the 
year  must  be  supplied  by  also  drawing  off  Flax  Pond. 
It  would  probably  be  approximately  accurate  to  assume 
that  when  the  city  is  consuming  four  millions  of  gallons 
per  day,  that  two  millions  would  be  delivered  to  the 
pump  well,  at  the  level  of  Flax  Pond  [(forty-four  feet 
above  tide,)  one  million  from  Flax  Pond  itself,  at  an 
average  of  forty  feet  above  tide,  and  one  million  from 
Breed’s  Pond,  also  at  a  level  at  the  pump  well  of  forty 
feet  above  tide,  (deducting  [the  loss  of  head,  which  is 
nearly  thirteen  feet  between  Breed’s  Pond  and  the 
pump  well  when  delivering  one  million  through  a 
twelve-inch  pipe,)  so  that  the  average  head  of  water 
at  the  suction  pipe  of  the  punips  on  this  plan,  will  be 
forty-two  feet  above  tide. 


60 


On  the  Flax  Pond  plan,  with  the  Pine  Hill  reservoir, 
the  loss  of  head,  when  delivering  three  millions  of  gal¬ 
lons  daily,  -through  a  pipe  of  twenty-four  inches  diame¬ 
ter,  is  four  and  two-thirds  feet,  so  that,  again,  two  mil¬ 
lions  of  gallons  from  the  Flax  Pond  reservoir  will  be 
delivered  at  the  pump  well,  at  the  foot  of  Pine  Hill,  at 
a  level  of  about  thirty-eight  feet  above  tide,  one  million 
at  a  level  of  thirty-four  feet,  and  one  million  from 
Breed’s  Pond,  at  a  level  of  forty-nine  feet,  making  an 
average  of  about  forty  feet  above  tide. 

On  the  Saugus  Piver  plan  the  loss  of  head  in  con¬ 
veying  three  millions  of  gallons,  through  a  pipe  of  two 
feet  diameter,  is  six  and  a  half  feet,  giving  a  head  at 
the  pump  well  of  twenty-three  and  a  half  feet  above 
tide,  and  the  one  million  obtained  from  Breed’s  Pond 
of  forty-nine  feet,  making  an  average  of  about  thirty 
feet  left  to  the  four  millions.  In  other  words,  the  wa¬ 
ter,  if  obtained  from  the  Saugus  Eiver,  must  be  lifted 
an  average  of  ten  feet  higher,  than  if  obtained  from 
Flax  Pond. 

The  cost  of  running  an  engine  of  the  character  pro¬ 
posed,  when  delivering  two  millions  of  gallons  in  twelve 
hours,  with  a  reservoir  one  hundred  and  forty-seven 
feet  above  the  pump  well,  through  a  pipe  of  sixteen 
inches  diameter,  will  be  amply  covered  by  the  following 
estimate : 


400  tons  of  coal,  at  $8, _ $3,200 

Engineer  and  fireman’s  wages,  _ _ 1,825 

Oil,  tallow,  waste,  etc., _  175 

Annual  repairs,  (averaging  20  years,) _  200 

- $5,400 


61 


Equal  per  day  to  $17.28,  or  per  million  of  gallons 
elevated  into  the  reservoir  $8.62,  or  per  million  of  gal¬ 
lons  lifted  one  foot  high  about  six  cents,  and  to  lift  four 
millions  per  day,  ten  feet  higher,  would  cost  about  $220 
per  annum,  which  is  the  interest  on  $3,143.  Until  the 
consumption  in  the  city  reaches  two  millions  of  gallons 
per  day,  the  cost  of  elevating  the  water  will  he  about 
equal  from  either  of  these  sources. 

Your  Committee  and  citizens  may  congratulate  them¬ 
selves  upon  their  natural  advantages,  compared  with 
sister  cities,  for  procuring  an  abundant  supply  of  pure 
and  wholesome  water,  at  so  small  an  outlay,  and  by 
measures  which  will  distribute,  if  desired,  a  considera¬ 
ble  portion  of  the  expenditure  over  so  long  a  period, 
and  leave  to  the  authorities  the  exercise  of  their  judg¬ 
ment,  at  what  time  these  additional  outlays  shall  be 
made. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  adding,  that  more  than  one  party 
skilled  in  the  construction  of  similar  works,  and  of 
large  pecuniary  responsibilities,  are  willing  to  contract 
for  the  construction  of  the  works  herein  described,  and 
upon  the  plans  and  specifications  which  I  have  pre¬ 
pared,  for  a  sum  not  exceeding  the  estimates  herein 
presented. 

I  state  this  merely  to  give  your  citizens  an  assurance 
that  these  estimates  are  ample  to  cover  the  cost  of  the 
works. 


62 


V.  THE  COMPARISON  OF  THE  PLANS. 

Your  Committee  having  requested  me  to  express  an 
opinion  of  the  several  plans,  and  the  one  best  suited 
for  the  purposes  deshed,  in  accordance  therewith  I 
report  as  follows : 

The  questions  to  be  considered  under  this  head  are 

1.  The  capacity  of  each  of  the  plans  to  furnish  the 
quantity  of  water  required  for  the  present  and  any 
probable  future  demand. 

2.  The  purity  of  the  water  proposed  to  be  furnished. 

.3.  The  cost  of  introducing  the  required  amount  with¬ 
out  involving  any  more  outlay,  at  the  beginning,  than  is 
necessary,  when  the  works  are  hereafter  enlarged  to 
meet  the  probable  ultimate  demand. 

4.  The  convenience  and  permanence  of  the  works, 
and  the  cost  of  maintaining  them. 

As  has  been  previously  stated,  Humphrey’s  Pond,  al¬ 
though  affording  the  finest  quality  of  wafer,  and  at  the 
greatest  natural  head  of  any  of  the  sources  examined, 
must  be  dismissed  from  this  comparison,  because  its 
supply  is  utterly  inadequate  to  your  present  temporary 
demand,  and  even  with  the  aid  of  Breed’s  Pond  would 
not  be  sufficient  for  the  demand  a  few  years  hence. 

Breed’s  Pond  by  itself  is  inadequate  in  quantity,  and 
at  too  low  an  elevation  to  be  of  value,  except  for  a  tem¬ 
porary  purpose,  while  the  permanent  works  are  being 
built.  As  before  stated  it  is  an  indispensable  adjunct 
to  the  Flax  Pond,  and  an  useful  one  to  the  Saugus 
Biver  plan. 


63 


The  comparison  is  therefore  narrowed  down  to  the 
two  last  mentioned  plans. 

In  regard  to  the  quantity  of  water  required,  both  are 
considered  sufficient  to  furnish  the  supply  which  has 
been  anticipated,  yet  the  quantity  from  Saugus  River,  if 
the  whole  should  ever  be  required,  is  many  times  great¬ 
er  than  could  be  obtained  from  Flax  Pond,  and  it  is 
possible  that  at  some  future  day  a  larger  quantity  than 
is  now  supposed  may  be  demanded. 

The  purity  of  the  water  from  these  two  sources  may 
be  regarded  as  nearly  equal.  That  from  Saugus  River 
has  more  vegetable  matter,  and  that  from  the  Flax 
Pond  more  animal  matter,  even  if  all  the  preventive 
measures  which  have  been  herein  proposed  are  carried 
out.  The  preference  in  regard  to  purity  is,  on  the 
whole,  in  favor  of  Saugus  River. 

The  cost  of  the  works  complete,  for  the  maximum 
supply,  is  in  favor  of  Flax  Pond,  by  some  $12,000,  to 
which  should  be  added  about  $3,000,  to  cover  the  extra 
cost,  of  pumping. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  owners  of  the  Flax  Pond 
waters  demand  a  very  large  sum  for  their  diversion. 
The  question  of  the  value  of.  their  rights  would  prob¬ 
ably  be  determined  by  the  courts,  under  Legislative 
authority,  and  therefore  I  have  not  regarded  this  de¬ 
mand  in  my  consideration  of  the  subject.  In  all  other 
particulars  the  two  plans  are  nearly  similar.  Either  of 
these  plans  may  therefore  be  adopted,  as  the  advantages 
of  each*,  upon  a  review  of  the  whole  subject,  seem  tu 


64 


be  nearly  equal.  I  am  more  inclined  in  favor  of  the 
Saugus  River  plan,  because  in  the  (perhaps  remote) 
contingency  of  a  growth  of  the  city  beyond  that  con¬ 
templated  in  the  preceding  examination,  you  will  have 
a  source  of  supply  ample  to  meet  even  the  most  extra¬ 
ordinary  demands. 

In  closing  this  report,  I  take  pleasure  in  stating  that 
the  surveys  have  been  made  in  the  most  satisfactory 
manner,  by  Mr.  George  H.  Bishop,  and  that  he  has 
also  aided  me  materially  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
plans  herewith  submitted. 

The  rapidity  with  which  these  surveys  have  been 
made,  as  well  as  their  completeness,  commends  Mr. 
Bishop  to  your  favorable  consideration. 

Respectfully,  yours. 


WM.  jr.  McALPINE,  Civil  Engineer, 


Detailed  Estimates  of  the  Cost  of  the  Plans. 


breed’s  pond. 


Cubic  yds. 

Price. 

Amount. 

Excavation  of  stone  and  wall,- 

__  400 

$1.50 

$600  00 

Excavation  for  puddling, _ 

1,100 

1.25 

1,375  00 

Puddling, 

2,500 

1.00 

2,500  00 

Rip  rap  wall. 

200 

2.00 

400  00 

Gate  house,  masonry. 

Gates,  stop  planks,  etc.. 

100 

8.00 

800  00 

200  00 

Iron  pipe  taken  up  and  relaid  (feet)  50 

6.00 

300  00 

Cross  belts,  etc.,  about  do.,  say 

_ 

75  00 

Waste  weir  in  rock. 

100  00 

Pumping  water, _  «  ^ 

300  00 

$6,650  00 

Add  20  per  cent.,  ‘  _ _ 

1,330  00 

$7,980  00 

Supply  main  (feet). 

7,266 

2.50 

18,165  00 

Stop  cocks  and  blow  off. 

450  00 

18,615  00 

Add  10  per  cent.,  _ _ 

1,861  50 

$20,476  50 

Total, _  $28,456  50 


If  this  plan  is  arranged  to  pump  the  water  into  Pine  Hill  reservoir, 
it  will  add  to  the  cost  and  expenditure  as  follows  : 


The  present  purchase  of  the  duplicate  engine, 

pump  aud  boiler,  _  $7,000 

Of  the  temporary  foundation  and  house, _  2,500 

Of  connecting  the  12-inch  main  with  the  pumps, 

and  16-inch  force  main, _ _  500 

Of  the  16-inch  cast  iron  force  main  and  water 

gates,  and  check  valves, _  9,500 


- • 

Amount  carried  forward^  $19,500  00 

9  • 


66 


■Amount  brought  forward^ 

Of  the  first  division 
Cubic  yds. 


Excavation  (E.  &  E.) - 5,000 

Embankment, _ _ _ 18,000 

Puddle, _ 4,000 

Broken  stone  or  gravel, _  500 

Slope  wall, _ 1,300 

Gate  house, _ 

Sodding  banks,  etc., _ 

Land, _ 


Ten  per  cent,  for  contingencies,  etc. 


$19,500  00 


the  Reservoir. 

Per  yd. 

Amount. 

$1.50 

$7,500 

50 

9,000 

90 

3,600 

1.25 

625 

3.00 

3,900 

4,000 

1,000 

2,000 

$31,625  00 


$51,125  00 
5,112  50 


Making  an  additional  present  outlay  of _  $56,237  50 

Of  this  there  is  chargeable  to  the  permanent  plan  _  52,662  50 


Making  an  extra  cost  of 


$3,575  00 


THE  FLAX  POND  PLAN,  WITH  THE  RESERVOIR  AT  HIGH  ROCK. 

Conduit  from  Flax  Pond  to  Pump  Well^  1,900  feet. 


Brick  work, _ 

Eock  excavation. 


Embankment,. 
Waste, _ 


Eight  of  way,. 


Cubic  yds. 

Per  yd. 

Amount. 

624 

$14.00 

$8,736 

600 

3.00 

1,800 

.  _2,400 

60 

1,440 

.  -  800 

50 

400 

1,000 

— 

4,000 

700 


Or  for  a  pipe  (in  substitution)  24 

inches  diameter  (L.  ft.) _ 1,900 


$18,076 


$9.00  $17,100 


Waste,  gate  house  and  right  of  way  as  above, _  5,700 

Eepairs  to  Sluice  Pond,  dam  and  fixtures, _ $5,000 

Eepairs  to  Flax  Pond  dam, _  3,000 

Cleaning  out  vegetable  matter  from  Sluice  Pond  and 

covering  with  gravel, _  5,000 

The  same  for  Flax  Pond, _  5,000 


Amount^  carried  forward, 


$22,800 


$18,000  $22,800 


67 


Amounts  brought  forward^  $18,000  $22,800  00 

Covering  the  swamp  between  the  ponds  with  gravel 

and  making  a  clean  waterway, _ 10,000 

- $28,000  00 


Pump  Well. 


$50,800  00 


Cubic  yds. 


Excavation  and  grading, _ 3,000 

Foundation  (feet), _ 30,000 

Masonry  (cubic  yds.), _  700 


Extra  fitting  on  do.  for  machinery 
Gates,  screens  and  bulkheads, _ 

Engine  and  boiler  house,  coal 

house  and  chimney, _ 

Engine,  boilers,  pumps  and  con¬ 
nections,  _ 

Duplicate  do., _ 

Extra  pipes,  water  gates,  etc., _ 

Land,  1^  acres, _  65,340 


Price.  Amount. 

.50  $1,500 
$75.00  2,250 

15.00  10,500 

1,000 

1,250 

- $16,500  00 


$13,500 


30,000 
7,000 
4,000 
20  13,068 

- $67,568  00 


Pump  Main. 


16  inches  diameter  (L.  ft.), _ 

Stop  gates,  check  valve,  etc., _ 

Right  of  way, — - - - - 


1,300  $6.00 


$7,800 

500 

500 


$8,800  00 


Peservoir, 


Cubic  yds. 

Price. 

Amount. 

Earth  and  rock, _  _  _ 

.  8,100 

$1.75  $14,175 

Embankment,  _  _ 

27,500 

50 

13,750 

Puddling, 

14,400 

90 

12,960 

Broken  stone. 

700 

1.25 

875 

Slope  wall. 

2,200 

3.00 

6,600 

Gate  house,  turfing,  etc.. 

5,000 

Removing  buildings,  _ _ 

3,000 

Land,  _  _ 

20,000 

20 

40,000 

- $96,360  00 

Bringing  Breed’s  Pond  water  to 

pump  well,  _ 

20,250  00 

Add  ten  per  cent,  for  contingencies,  etc.,  . 

26,027  80 

Total,  _ 

.  .  $286,305  80 

68 


If  the  water  from  Flax  Pond  is  conveyed  by  a  pipe  to  a  pump 
well  at  the  foot  of  Pine  Hill,  and  pumped  into  the  reservoir  at  that 
place,  the  cost  wiU  be  as  follows  : 


L.  ft. 

An  additional  length  of  pipe, 

24  inches  diameter, _ 7’,800 

Water  gates  and  blow  olF, _ 

Right  of  way, _ 

Cost  of  pipe  (1,900  feet)  as 
per  first  estimate, _ 

Repairs,  etc.,  to  ponds,  as  per 

first  estimate, _ • _ 

Pump  well, _ 


Price. 


$9.00 


Amount. 

$.70,200 

500 

1,000 

22,800 


Engines,  houses,  etc.. 

54,500 

Land,  three  acres. 

1,500 

Pump  main,  16  in.  diameter,  1,500 
Stop  gates,  check  valve,  right 

$6.00 

$9,000 

of  way,  etc.. 

600 

Reservoir. 

Cubic  yds. 

Price. 

Amount. 

Excavations,  earth  and  rock,  7,600 

$1.12 

$8,512 

Embankment,  26,500 

50 

13,250 

Puddling,  ^  8,000 

90 

7,200 

Broken  stone,  _  700 

1.25 

875 

Slope  wall,  2,050 

3.00 

6,150 

Turfing,  gate  house,  etc., _ 

5,000 

Land, 

2,000 

$94,500  00 

28,000  00 
16,500  00 


$56,000  00 


>,600  00 


42,987  00 


Add  10  per  cent  for  contingencies,. 


$247,587  00 
24,758  70 


Total, 


$272,345  70 


69 


THE  SAUGUS  RIVER  PLAN. 
Conduit^  13,900 /eef  long. 


Cast 


3  feet  diameter  (feet), 


Box  culverts,. 


Gate  house  and 

Masonry, _ 

Right  of  way, 


Cubic  yds. 

Price. 

Amount. 

-  5,340 

$14.00 

$74,760 

_  400 

18.00 

7,200 

)  2,150 

3.00 

6,450 

-13,000 

60 

7,800 

-65,000 

45 

29,250 

2,000 

500 

1,000 

4,000 

120 

8.00 

960 

5,000 

-$138,920  OQ 


Iron  pipes,  2  feet  diameter, 

substituted  for  conduit,_13,500  $9.00  $121,500  , 


Gate  house, _  4,000 

Crossing  river  extra  and  three 

blow-offs, _ _ _  1,000' 

Right  of  way, _  2,000 

- $128,500  00 

Cleansing  ponds  and  repairing  dam, _  5,000  00^ 

Pump  well  as  before, _  16,500  00 

Engines,  houses,  etc.,  do., _ 56,000  00 

Pump  main,  do., _ _ _ _ _  9,600  00 

Reservoir,  land,  etc.,  do., _  42,987  00 


$258,587  00' 

Contingencies,  etc.,  10  per  cent., _  25,858  70 


$284,445  70' 


70 


TABLE  No.  1. 

To  determine  the  capacity  of  a  reservoir  necessary  to  store  the 
supply  of  water  from  a  water  shed  of  one  square  mile.  Based  upon 
the  mean  rain  fall  monthly  for  fifty  years  at  New  Bedford,  and  a 
storage  reservoir  of  a  mean  area  of  fifty  acres. 

This  table  will  be  nearly  correct  for  Breed’s  Pond.  The  depths 
of  the  rain  fall,  and  of  the  evaporation,  is  given  in  inches,  and  the 
quantities  of  water  in  the  nearest  million  of  gallons. 


Monthly. 

Requi’g 

storage 

M.Galls 

»or^c<iT-irHcoeoo«ooooo 
iO  CD  O  CO  (M  r-l  cq 

rH 

Defici’y 

M.Galls 

00  O  CO  tJH  CD 
r-l  (7^  t— 1  rH 

rH 

Surplus 

M.Galls 

UO  C5  O  00 

!— 1  t— 1  T— 1  I— I 

Evap’n 

and 

Cons’n 

M.Galls 

Ot^OCOGOCOCDCDCOCC.0^0 

CO(MCOCOCOTtlTtl'>^TtCOCOCO 

437  ' 

Leav  ’g 
for 

Cons’n 

M.Galls 

l>.CDI>.C5i— 

(M(MCq<MCOCOCOCOCOCO(M<N 

1  364  1 

Evaporation 
from  Reservoir. 

M.Galls 

COrHCO'^t>-C:>i-HT-l05t>-lOCO 

rH  rH 

CO 

Inches.  | 

(Mi-t(7JC0lOt>.00Q0t^»O'^(M 

to 

Rain  fall  collectable. 

M.Galls 

t^C5>O<M00»CCD'c0O5C0g00 

TtHCOCO'^COCND^COC^CO'^'^ 

I2f  1 

Inches.  | 

OOOOCOOS'^COCOOOCOi—l'^ 

I>-(MOCOi— tTtl'^CSCDO'^t'- 

(N 

id 

Per  ct.  1 

oooooooooooo 

OOt'-CDCDCD»OiO»OtOCDCDl>- 

O 

CD 

Whole 

rain 

fali. 

Inches. 

t^CD(?10lOOOOCDCDi— 

coDQcooooooosoqcoc^oos 

cocococococ^<cicococo-^co 

1  41.73 

Months. 

January 

February 

March 

Apdl 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Totals 

71 


TABLE  No.  2. 

The  following  table  shows  the  required  capacity  of  the  Breed’s 
Pond  reservoir,  based  upon  the  year  1850,  when  there  was  the  great¬ 
est  rain  fall  and  the  greatest  monthly  fluctuations  during  the  half  cen¬ 
tury.  With  a  water-shed  of  one  square  mile,  and  a  reservoir  of  fifty 
acres  mean  area. 


Monthly. 

Requi’g 

storage. 

M.Galls 

t- CO  rH  O  lO  rH  i— 1 

i-H  rH 

115 

Defici’y 

M.Galls 

i-l  t-H  CO  (M  t-  05 

rH  rH  i-l  Oq  1-1 

170 

Surplus 

M.Galls 

CO  a  o 

CO  rH  CO  tJH 

170  1 

Evap’n 

and 

Cons’n. 

M.Galls 

OlOtMb-rHCOrHrHCOrHlOO 

TjHCO’^'cflOOCOCOOiOTtiTtl 

585  1 

^  a 
>  u'h 

SSg 

.M.Galls 

t^'^osco'^fc-oot-'^+ior- 

COCOCO'^'^''^»r50'^HlHrlHCO 

oq 

iO 

Evaporation 
from  Reservoir. 

M.Galls 

COrHCO'^t>-C:^rHi-HC:.l>.XOCO 
rH  rH 

CO 

m 

pO 

§ 

oqrHcqcoict-oooot-iO'^oq 

54 

Rain  fall  collectable. 

M.Galls 

CO'^COCOOOt-OOTtlCOO 

t-oqocO'^rHrH'^ocqoqco 

rH 

585 

m 

*3 

M 

t^a)cocoo5ooocooot^ 

rHcocqo5cooociqco''T)^»oco 

'THrHCO'^oi  rH  (?q  »0  I-H  rH  rdH 

GO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

Per  ct.  1 

oooooooooooo 

OOt-COCOlOOOOCOCOt-CO 

o 

CO 

Whole 

rain 

fall. 

Inches. 

(Mt^G001C5C5rH050qCOrHt^ 

(?qo5co(M0500ioi>^co»oco 

UOrHOCOCOrHoioOOqcqCO 

rH 

o 

>o 

iO 

Months, 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Totals 

72 


TABLE  No.  3: 

Table  to  determine  the  necessary  capacity  of  the  storing  reservoir 
on  the  Flax  Pond  plans,  with  a  water-shed  of  three  square  miles ^ 
including  the  additional  shed  turned  in,  and  a  mean  reservoir  area 
of  one  hundred  acres  on  the  mean  monthly  rain  fall  for  fifty  years. 


Monthly. 

Requi’g 

storage 

M.Galls 

t-COOiOCDlCOCDt^OOO’ 

i-OOO 

r-H  I— 1  rH  I— t  rH 

196 

Defic’cy 

M.Galls 

rH  »0  05  t>. 

0  iO  CO  CO  I— 1 

1  961 

Surplus 

M.Galls 

rH  (M  10  tH  00 

CO  r-l  (M  CO 

196  1 

Evap’n 

and 

Cons’ll. 

M.Galls 

'^t^cocoi-HcoocococococO'^ 

C5GOC50i-I(:MCOCO<Mi-(G505 

rH  I— t  i—t  I— 1  I— 1  i—l  rH 

1311  1 

Lcav’g 

for 

Cons’n. 

M.Galls 

00'?ft>.C00500rHT-HC0(nOG0 

GOOOOOC5050rHrHOOOOCO 

rH  I— 1  I— 1  i—l  rH 

1165  1 

Evaporation 
from  Reservoir. 

M.Galls 

rH  rH  (M  CM  rH  rH  rH 

146 

CO 

0) 

73 

(Mi-KMCOOt'.COCOt^iO-’^'M 

Htl 

0 

Rain  fall  collectable. 

M.Galls 

rHt^K5<X>HtliOCX)C5t>>05i:Drtl 
HtlrHOCNrHt^l-^OSGOC^KMT^I 
rH  rH  rH  rH  rH  rH  rH 

1  1311 

Inches.! 

OOOOCOC5rti05COGOCOrH'!^ 

l>.(?qOCOrH'^'^050C5'<dHt-. 

(rioioi<?i(rqrHrHrHrHrHc4(ri 

25.12 

0) 

Ph 

000000000000 
00  0  0  0  0  0  »o  »o  0  0 

60 

a> 

0.3=: 

[S  CS  .cs 

Inches. 

t^O(M05»0  050000rH010q 
C001C000OC0C5C0C001OC5 

cococococooic^cococo  Hi?  CO 

41.73 

Months. 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Totals 

73 


TABLE  No.  4. 

The  following  table  shows  the  required  capacity  of  the  reservoirs 
on  the  Flax  Pond  plans,  based  upon  the  year  1850,  when  there  was 
the  greatest  rain  fall  and  the  greatest  monthly  fluctuations  during  the 
half  century.  Water  shed,  three  square  miles  ;  reservoir,  one  hun¬ 
dred  acres. 


Monthly. 

Requi’g 

storage 

M.Galls 

C5»OO1.-h00iO5<I  COlO  rH 
1— (i— (i— I— I  T— 1 

iO 

1-^ 

Defic’cy 

M.Galls 

O  1-H  ^  b-  C5  lO 

CO  CO  ■n  (M  O 

I— 1  rH 

489  1 

Surplus 

M.Gallsj 

CD  05  05  •>.  00 

GO  CO  i-H  CO  O 

rH  nH  I— 1 

05 

00 

Evap’n 

and 

Cons’n. 

M.Galls 

C00^O505rHC0JO»0C0rHC0CO 
COi— lG<JCO»OCDl>.l'-CDtOCOCO 
I— IrHrHi—li— IrHrHrHrHrHi— (rH 

1757 

>  CO 

Oi'w  o 

1-3  o 

M.Galls 

t^OCOT— Ib-iOCOCOlOt^COt^ 
0^rH<NCOCO'^tO».0'rtCOC<JC^ 
i—lt— IrHi— IrHi— (rHr— li— Ir-li— (i— 1 

CO 

Evaporation 
from  Reservoir. 

jM. Galls 

CO(^^OOO^OOC^^^JGC^O:0 

rH  (7^  I-H  nH  i-H 

146 

Inches. 

<NrH(MC010)l>.COCOI>»»0'^<N 

1  54 

Rain  fall  collectable. 

GO 

q 

S 

05(M00C0OOr- IGOOS^QOt-I 

I— lt'.CD»0CNC0»O'tlOt^t'^Hf< 
(M  I-H  (M  1— 1  r-H  CO 

1757 

c» 

a; 

o 

t^G0C0C005i0OO:DOOt^ 
rHCO(M05CO»OOOqCO^OCD 
'idH  t-H  CO (?4  rH  d  lO  1-H  pH  HjH 

GO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

o 

oooooooooooo 

GOl'-CDCDCDlOlOOlOCDCDt'. 

o 

CD 

Whole 

rain 

fall. 

Inches. 

(MI'-OOC<10505rHC5''MCOi-Ht^ 

(MC5COC^C500lOt'.COlOCO 

lOr-HiooocorHoitdooioicD 

I-H 

O 

b- 

»o 

to 

Months. 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Totals  1 

10 


74 


ESTIMATE  OF  THE  COST  OF  DISTRIBUTION. 


Sizes  of  pipes. 

Cost 

per 

foot. 

First  Class. 

Second  Class. 

Third  Class. 

Length. 

Cost. 

Length. 

Cost. 

Length. 

Cost. 

16  inches  diameter,  cast  iron, 

$6.00 

1,500 

$9,000 

16  inches  diameter,  wro’t  iron. 

4.00 

724 

2,896 

3,776 

$15,104 

4,726 

$18,904 

12  inches  diameter,  wro’t  iron. 

2.50 

5,026 

12,565 

1,500 

5,250 

10  inches  diameter,  wro’t  iron. 

2.25 

10,780 

24,255 

4,040 

9,090 

3,560 

8,010 

8  “  “  “  “ 

1.80 

650 

1,170 

1,600 

2,880 

6  “  “  “  “ 

1.50 

2,678 

4,017 

29,550 

44,325 

9,444 

14,166 

4  “  “  “  “ 

1.10 

3,050 

3,355 

15,900 

17,490 

6,540 

7,1‘>4 

Total  length,  20  miles. 

24,408 

$57,258 

56,366 

$94,139 

24,270 

$48,274 

221  hydrants,  $55,  $12,155 

115  gates,  $64,  7,360 

Add  485 

$20,000 

This  sum  apportioned  is  for 

8,000 

9,000 

3,000 

Deduct  now  laid,  10,780  feet  of 

10-inch  pipe, 

2.25 

24,255 

$65,258 

$103,139 

$51,274 

Also  the  12-iuch  main  included 

.  in  the  Breed  Pond  estimate, 

4,226  feet. 

2.50 

10,565 

34,820 

Total  cost,  $219,671. 

$.30,4.38 

75 


LIST  OF  PIPES. 

List  of  pipes  proposed  to  be  laid  in  the  several  streets,  arranged  in 
three  classes.  First,  where  the  water  takers  will  be  most  numerous. 
Second,  where  they  will  next  yield  the  most  revenue.  Third,  where 
they  will  be  most  serviceable  for  extinguishment  of  fires,  having  refer¬ 
ence  also  to  prospective  revenue. 

First  Class. 


Lengths  of  pipes  of  the  various  sizes. 

In  street. 

From 

To 

4-inch 

6-:inch  |8-inch 

lO-in. 

12-in. 

16-in. 

Pump  main 

Pump  house 

Reservoir 

1500 

Walnut 

Pump  house 

Kertland 

950 

Kertland 

Walnut 

Boston 

1303 

Federal 

Boston 

N.  Common 

1273 

N.  Common 

Federal 

Market 

3638 

Market 

N.  Common 

Munroe 

Laid. 

1250 

Munroe 

Market 

Washington 

Laid. 

700 

Washington 

Munroe 

Union 

Laid. 

460 

Union 

Washington 

Pearl 

936 

Exchange 

Union 

Broad 

700 

Willow 

Union 

Oxford 

637 

Washington 

Munroe 

Liberty 

320 

State 

Market 

Brown 

778 

HarrisonAv. 

Market 

400 

Summer 

Market 

Pleasant 

724 

Broad 

Market 

Exchange 

1300 

Broad 

Exchange 

Nahant 

800 

Mt.  Vernon 

Exchange 

Silsbee 

570 

Spring 

Exchange 

Broad 

380 

Franklin 

N.  Common 

Laighton 

Laid. 

1720 

Union 

Broad 

Exchange 

880 

Laighton 

Franklin 

Washington 

Laid. 

746 

Washington 

Laighton 

Boston 

Laid. 

1329 

Market 

Munroe 

Broad 

600 

Totals 

3050 

3614 

637 

9843 

5026 

2224 

76 


Second  Class. 


In  street. 

From 

To 

Lengths  of  pipes. 

4-inch 

6-inch 

8-inch 

lO-in. 

12-in. 

Nall  ant 

Broad 

Ocean 

1200 

Nevvhall 

Broad 

Beach 

1811 

W.Baltim’re 

Nahant 

Newhall 

640 

Ocean 

Nahant 

Lewis 

400 

Atlantic 

Broad 

Ocean 

2772 

Green 

Union 

Broad 

1729 

Silsbee 

Union 

Broad 

1168 

Pearl 

Union 

Essex 

810 

Essex 

Market 

High  Rock 

1145 

Washington 

Liberty 

Laighton 

2411 

Johnson 

Essex 

Laighton 

1740 

Sutton 

Essex 

Liberty 

525 

Franklin 

Laighton 

Boston 

1491 

Hanover 

Franklin 

N.  Common 

880 

Chase 

Hanover 

Baker 

455 

Baker 

Franklin 

N.  Common 

1330 

Tremont 

Market 

Pleasant 

700 

Church 

Summer 

S.  Common 

1083 

Summer 

Pleasant 

South 

Summer 

South 

Main 

1520 

Shepard 

S.  Common 

Railway 

1860 

Vine 

S.  Common 

Summer 

1015 

Warren 

George 

Shepard 

750 

Commercial 

S.  Common 

Railway 

2400 

Harwood 

N.  Common 

Main 

1353 

Park 

N.  Common 

Main 

904 

Mall 

N.  Common 

Boston 

1370 

Centre 

N.  Common 

Boston 

1254 

Federal 

N.  Common 

Federal  Sq. 

1234 

S.  Common 

Market 

N.  Common 

3594 

Whiting 

Main 

N.  Common 

1157 

Lowell 

Summer 

Neptune 

700 

Central 

950 

Broad 

Nahant 

Lewis 

1228 

Oxford 

Market 

High 

1740 

Lewis 

Broad 

Ocean 

2814 

Cherry 

Broad 

1120 

Chatham 

Lewis 

Essex 

2361 

Pump  well 

to  Reservoir 

Cast  iron 

1500 

Totals, 

15903 

29669 

1600 

4042 

1500 

le-inch. 


3776 


3776 


77 


Third  Class. 


In  street. 

From 

To 

Lengths  of  pipes. 

4-inch 

6-inch 

8'inch 

10-in. 

12-in. 

16-inch. 

Union 

Silsbee 

Chestnut 

2201 

Chestnut 

Union 

Essex 

556 

Suffolk 

Beach 

I^ewhall 

715 

School 

Union 

Newhall 

712 

Smith 

Union 

550 

Ireson 

Union 

Essex 

562 

Ellis 

Silsbee 

School 

390 

Hi^h 

Essex 

Pearl 

700 

Bnffum 

Oxford 

Pearl 

555 

Mulberry 

Union 

Oxford 

578 

Stewart 

Essex 

Liberty 

688 

Liberty 

Market 

Willow 

Liberty 

Willow 

High 

Franklin  Av. 

N.  Common 

Franklin 

300 

Main 

Washington 

Summer 

3560 

Sagamore 

Beach 

Newhall 

790 

South 

Main 

Summer 

1200 

South 

Summer 

Neptune 

640 

Beach 

Broad 

Newhall 

1810 

Essex 

Chestnut 

Chatham 

1036 

Chatham 

Essex 

Main 

3200 

Pump  well 

N.  Common 

3526 

Totals 

6540 

9443 

3560 

4726 

REPORTS  OF  CHEMIST 


The  samples  of  waters  received  from  your  city  have  been  care¬ 
fully  analyzed,  and  I  now  send  you  a  detailed  statement  of  the  results 
obtained. 

None  of  these  waters  are  so  pure  and  free  from  organic  matters  as 
is  desirable  for  distribution  in  a  large  city.  But  if  there  is  no  other 
available  source  of  supply,  it  would  be  well  to  remove,  as  completely 
as  is  possible,  all  the  existing  causes  of  impurity  from  the  water  that 
flows  through  the  inlet  to  Flax  Pond,  and  then  draw  from  the  pond 
itself.  If  Sluice  and  Flax  Ponds  are  connected,  their  waters  prob¬ 
ably  receive  impurities  from  the  same  sources,  as  both  contain  the 
same  kind  of  organic  matter,  although  there  is  much  less  in  quantity 
in  the  Sluice  Pond  water  than  in  that  of  the  inlet  to  Flax  Pond. 
The  water  in  Flax  Pond  apparently  undergoes  a  natural  purification, 
as  at  the  outlet  it  is  nearly  free  from  offensive  organic  matter,  and  is 
the  softest  of  these  waters  for  general  distribution. 

Results  of  Analyses. 

Four  samples  of  waters  received  from  the  city  of  Lynn  have  been 
analyzed  and  examined,  with  the  following  results : 

No.  1.  Flax  Pond. — From  near  centre  of  outlet. 

This  sample  is  almost  colorless,  and  free  from  odor  or  taste  when 
fresh,  and  also  after  standing  for  eight  days  in  a  warm  room.  It 
contains  very  little  yellowish-brown  floating  matter.  One  United 
States  gallon  contains  — 

Grains. 


Chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt), _ 0.51 

Sulphates  of  lime,  soda  and  potash, _ 0.37 

Bi-carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia, _ 1.16 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina, _ 0.07 

Silica, _ 0.13 

Organic  matter, _ 1.84 


Total  weight, _ 4.08 


79 


The  gases  present  are  carbonic  acid,  nitrogen  and  oxygqp,  and  the 
water  contains  merest  traces  of  nitrogenous  or  animal  matter. 

No.  2.  Flax  Pond.  —  From  Inlet. 

This  sample  was  clear  and  colorless,  with  but  little  odor  or  taste 
when  fresh ;  but  after  standing  twenty-four  hours  in  a  warm  room, 
it  becomes  quite  offensive  and  opaque,  or  milky,  depositing  a  white, 
floculent  matter.  One  U.  S.  gallon  contains  — 


.  Grains. 

Common  salt, _ 0.57 

Sulphates  of  lime,  potash  and  soda,_ _ 1.38 

Bi-carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia, _ 2.11 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina, _ Traces. 

Silica  and  sand, _ 0.26 

Organic  matter,  partly  nitrogenous, _ 2.72 


Total  weight, _ 7.04 


The  gases  held  in  solution  are  carbonic  acid,  nitrogen,  oxygen,  and 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  ;  the  latter  arising  from  decomposition  of  sul¬ 
phates  by  the  organic  matter  present.  This  water  contains  an  un¬ 
commonly  large  proportion  of  nitrogenous  matter,  and  is  probably 
contaminated  by  artificial  means,  —  perhaps  by  the  drainage  of  manu¬ 
factories  of  leather.  It  is  not  suitable  for  drinking. 

No.  3.  Sluice  Pond. 

This  water  is  colorless,  odorless,  and  tasteless  when  fresh,  but  it 
decomposes  and  becomes  slightly  offensive  in  forty-eight  hours.  One 


U.  S.  gallon  contains  — 

Grains. 

Common  salt, _ _ 0.34 

Sulphates  of  lime,  soda  and  potash, _ 0.38 

Bi-carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia, _ 0.60 

Oxide  of  iron, _ Traces. 

Silica  and  sand, _ 0.12 

Organic  matter, _ 1.12 


Total  weight, _ 2.56 


This  water  has  all  the  characters  of  No.  2,  but  in  a  much  less 
degree.  It  might  be  used  for  domestic  purposes,  as  it  contains  a 
very  small  weight  of  impurities  of  any  kind,  but  would  be  much  bet¬ 
ter  if  freed  from  drainage  matter. 


80 


No.  4.  Saugus  River. 

It  is  tinted  yellow,  lias  a  very  slight  earthy  odor  and  taste  when 
fresh,  and  is  the  same  after  being  kept  in  a  warm  room  for  eight 
days.  It  contains  very  little  yellowish-brown  floating  matter,  and 
some  sand.  One  U.  S.  gallon  contains  — 


Grains. 

Common  salt^ _ 0.40 

Sulphates  of  lime,  soda,  etc., _ 0.29 

Bi-carbonates  of  lime,  etc., _ 1.51 

Oxide  of  iron, _ Traces. 

Sand  and  silica, _ 0,92 

Organic  matter, _ 2.40 


Total  weight, _ _ _ 5.52 


The  gases  present  are  carbonic  acid,  nitrogen  and  oxygen  ;  and  the 
organic  matter  is  principally  brown  vegetable  extract,  such  as  is  gen¬ 
erally  present  in  river  water,  and  which  gives  it  color. 

This  water  compares  favorably  with  that  of  other  rivers,  but  is  not 
so  pure  as  the  sample  marked  No.  1,  Flax  Pond. 

All  of  these  waters  are  pleasantly  asrated,  and  No.  3  is  the  softest. 


ANALYSIS  OF  WATER  FROM  BREED’S  POND. 

The  samples  of  water  from  Breed’s  Bond  have  been  analyzed,  with 
the  following  results : 

There  were  three  samples  received,  which  had  been  taken  from 
different  parts  of  the  pond,  but  the  water  was  of  the  same  quality  in 
all.  Complete  analysis  was  made  of  the  largest  sample,  said  to  have 
been  taken  from  as  near  where  the  service  pipe  would  probably  enter 
the  pond  as  possible. 

This  water  has  no  odor  or  taste  when  fresh,  but  after  standing  for 
forty-eight  hours,  in  a  warm  room,  it  becomes  slightly  offensive,  — 
more  so  than  the  water  from  Lake  Cochituate.  It  is  transparent, 
has  a  slightly  yellowish  tinge,  and  is  not  perfectly  clear,  but  contains 
floculent  organic  matter,  which  settles  to  the  bottom  in  a  few  hours. 
It  is  free  from  living_  animalcula),  is  quite  soft,  and  does  not  act  on 
lead  pipe  any  more  than  Boston  water.  It  is  brisk  and  aerated. 


81 


One  United  States  gallon  contains  3  grains  of  solid  matter, 
consisting  of 

Grains. 


Chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt), _ 0.42 

Sulphates  of  soda,  potash  and  lime, _ 0.34 

Bi-carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia, _ 1.01 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina, _ 0.08 

Silica, _ 0.10 

Organic  matter, _ 1.82 


Total  weight,. 


3.77 


The  organic  matter  consists  principally  of  vegetable  extract,  but 
contains  traces  of  ammonia  and  animal  matter.  This  is  the  greatest 
and  only  objection  to  this  water  for  general  use.  It  produces  the 
odor  and  taste,  and  indicates  that  the  pond  receives  drainage  from 
some  low  lands,  or  perhaps  newly  cultivated  fields. 

This  water  is  much  better  than  the  average  well  water  for  drinking 
purposes  ;  it  is  excellent  for  use  in  steam  boilers  and  washing,  being 
remarkably  free  from  mineral  matter.  The  following  tabular  state¬ 
ment  shows  how  this  water  compares  with  that  supplied  to  other 
cities : 


Purity  of  Waters. 


Impurities  in  grains  contained  in  one  gallon  (231  cubic  inches) 


of  each. 


Breed’s  Pond,  Lynn, _ 

Boston,  Cochituate  Lake, 
New  York,  Croton  River, 

Philadelphia,  river, _ 

Chicago,  Michigan  Lake, 
A  well  in  Roxbury, _ 


Mineral 

Organic 

Total 

Matter. 

Matter. 

Impurities. 

.  1.95 

1.82 

3.77 

.  2.40 

0.71 

3.11 

.  4.11 

0.67 

4.78 

.  2.30 

1.20 

3.50 

5.62 

1.06 

6.68 

.  8.46 

2.69 

11.15 

All  natural  waters  vary  in  composition  with  the  seasons  of  the 
year,  but  this  difference  is  very  small. 


Analyses  of  Well  Waters. 

These  waters  are  quite  remarkable  and  interesting,  scientifically  as 
well  as  practically,  being  from  sources  near  the  ocean,  and  so  highly 
charged  with  mineral  matter  other  than  sea  salt.  Well  waters  from 

11 


82 


inland,  or  in  the  country,  do  not  average  more  than  seven  or  eight 
grains  of  solid  matter  contained  in  the  gallon ;  while  these  average 
nearly  twenty-five  grains,  the  principal  constituents  being  sulphate 
and  bi-carbonate  of  lime,  which  render  them  very  hard,  and  almost 
mineral  waters  in  character.  The  presence  of  organic  matter  in  large 
proportions,  from  the  surrounding  soil,  drains  or  cesspools,  is  also  a 
detrimental  feature. 

A  change  from  such  impure  waters  as  most  of  these  to  a  soft  pond 
water  would  be  a  very  important  one  to  all  consumers,  the  difierence 
in  taste  alone  being  quite  noticable  at  first ;  but  from  the  experiences 
of  other  cities,  in  all  countries,  it  would  unquestionably  be  highly 
beneficial  in  Lynn.  The  great  comfort,  convenience  and  value  of  a 
constant  supply  of  fresh,  soft  water  is  only  appreciated  when  realized. 

Four  samples  of  well  waters  received  from  the  city  of  Lynn  have 
been  analyzed,  with  the  following  results : 

No.  1.  234  Summer  Street. 

It  is  clear  and  transparent,  without  odor,  color  or  taste.  One  U. 
S.  gallon  contains  — 

Grains. 


Common  salt,  with  sulphate  and  carbonate  of  soda, _ 2.72 

Sulphate  and  bi-carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia, _ 2.12 

Oxide  of  iron,  alumina  and  silica, _ 0.84 

Organic  matter  (traces  of  animal  matter), _ 2.48 


Weight  of  impurities, _ 8.16 


This  is  a  very  good  well  water,  being  as  pure  as  the  average  of 
well  waters  in  Eastern  Massachusetts.  The  only  objection  to  it  is  the 
presence  of  so  much  organic  matter. 

No.  2.  12  Tremont  Street. 

It  is  clear,  transparent,  and  free  from  odor,  color  or  taste.  One 


U.  S.  gallon  contains  — 

Grains. 

Common  salt,  sulphate  and  carbonate  of  soda, - 6.11 

Sulphate  and  bi-carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia, - 15.90 

Oxide  of  iron,  alumina  and  silica, - 1.93 

Carbonate  of  zinc, _ 5.96 

Organic  matter  (partly  animal), _ 4.18 


Weight  of  impurities, _ 34.08 


83 


The  carbonate  of  zinc  comes  from  some  pipe,  pump,  or  utensil 
used  in  collecting  the  sample,  which  may  have  been  made  of  galvan¬ 
ized  iron. 

Aside  from  the  zinc  present,  this  water  is  highly  charged  with 
mineral  and  organic  impurities,  as  will  be  seen  by  comparing  its 
analysis  with  those  of  other  well  known  waters.  If  it  contained 
more  iron  and  less  animal  matter,  it  might  be  used  as  a  mineral 
’water. 

No.  3.  Corner  of  Exchange  and  Broad  Streets. 

It  is  clear,  transparent  and  colorless,  but  has  a  slightly  offensive 
odor  and  taste,  especially  after  standing  in  a  warm  place  for  a  few 


hours.  One  U.  S.  gallon  contains  — 

Grains. 

Common  salt,  sulphate  and  carbonate  of  soda, _ 7.18 

Sulphate  and  bi-carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia, _ 16.31 

Oxide  of  iron,  alumina  and  silica, _ 1.01 

Organic  matter  (largely  animal), _ 5.10 


Weight  of  impurities, _ 29.60 


This  water  contains  more  animal  matter,  having  the  characters  of 
that  derived  from  drains  or  cesspools,  than  either  of  the  others.  In 
other  respects,  this  sample  is  very  much  like  No.  2,  and  the  same 
remarks  apply  to  both. 

No.  4.  Corner  of  Chestnut  and  Mason  Streets. 

It  is  clear  and  transparent,  with  but  slight  odor  and  taste.  One 


U.  S.  gallon  contains  — 

Grains. 

Common  salt,  sulphate  and  carbonate  of  soda, _ 10.82 

Sulphate  and  bi-carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia, _ 6.55 

Oxide  of  iron,  alumina  and  silica, _ 0.69 

Organic  matter  (largely  animal), _ 5.14 


Total  weight  of  impurities,  J _ 23.20 


The  greatest  objection  to  this  sample  is  the  presence  of  so  much 
organic  matter. 

These  waters  are  all  aerated  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  oxygen  and 
nitrogen  ;  and  Nos.  2,  3  and  4  are  uncommonly  hard. 

S.  DANA  HAYES, 

State  Assayer  and  Chemist,  Mass. 


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